I'll Move Into Your House, I'll Move Into Your Heart Also
by CeruleanKiss
Summary: Tora has always enjoyed being his rich, stunning self. Of course he fakes his way through half the things he does, but he's learned to live around the lies, absorb himself in the worst of his ways. But this girl... well, SHE'S new. A miss Michiyo Akari sees through it all. And surprises herself by falling in love with the guy who's been pissing her off ever since she moved in.
1. And So It Begins

Disclaimer: The only character I own in this story is Michiyo Akari- and whoever else I decide to make up. I do not own Kaichou wa Maid-sama or any of its characters.

Now that that's over with, Welcome to my story! Enjoy, men's and miss's! :)

* * *

**Chapter One. Igarashi and Michiyo's Intro's (Well this should be fun~)**

"Miss Michiyo."

"Call me Akari, I'm not one for honorifics."

"Okay~ Akari-san~!"

"Close enough." Akari mumbles.

Today is the day that she will be moving into the Igarashi household. It sounds like a wonderful thing, a dream come true, to anyone who hears about it; getting to be so close to such a rich and prestigious family, being allowed to live in a beautiful, massive 'home', getting treated like a proper lady and in proper care, and getting the sheer honor to walk along the same carpeted rooms and glistening halls as the handsome son and only heir to the Igarashi's name...

Except she knew it would be hell for her. A hellish mirage of a paradise.

You see, Akari had met the son of the Igarashi's, once before. His name was Tora, and she could say only one thing about him.

He was fake.

"This way, Akari-san!" The petite red-in-the-face maid led Akari through yet another set of richly decorated double doors. She was reddened by her heightened excitement- you see- because Akari had unexpectedly walked in on her with a certain young Igarashi boy.

He'd been undressing her slowly. And kissing her neck. Just inside the parlor that Akari had been told to meet the maid in who would help her get to her room and arrange her things for her.

Akari shakes the image from her mind of the two of them. How was the maid acting so completely nonchalant about it now? And that Igarashi... he'd looked proud! What a smirk on his face, a look that most might find charming, though she was openly shocked and didn't know what to think of him.

Except that, even that smirk was faked.

"Here we are, Ak-"

"Thanks, okay I can handle myself from here." Akari quickly shushes the still-flushed maid, and then opens the door to the room and closes it, locked, behind her.

She closes her eyes tightly until she hears the maid walk away, and then opens them only to gasp.

The room was very large.

A bed twice- thrice- four times the size of any regular bed (it could probably hold ten people on it!) was placed directly across from her, at the end wall of the room, just between two wide, spacious windows. The windows arched at the top, but their heightened edges were long and rectangular, and draped by beige curtains that slunk down the wall, all the way to nearly the floor. Oh, and the floor was magnificently furnished with other items, such as a chest of drawers, three couches and a loveseat, a sofa chair, an elongated cherry-wood table, a few cabinets, and a desk in the corner that looked to be made of glass, with a computer set on the top of it and a cherry-legged chair pulled under the glass surface.

Then Akari started to take in the little things. The carpet's vanilla-ice-cream-color, the large twinkling lights that made up a grand chandelier above her head, the closets pressed on either side of the door she just walked through, with glowing brass handles, the deep maroon color of the bedding, the smell of acidic orange slices and lemony soap in the air, the fair and lightly-golden painted ceiling and walls...

"This cannot be..." She sounded like a character out of a Shakespearean play, but she'd really meant to end her sentence with 'my room'. She was cut off when she felt the floor vibrate just below her feet.

It sounded as though a door had slammed. Believe you me, she knew well what that sounded like.

Being the curious thing that she was, Akari made her way to one of the large windows by the bed. Looking out at the day's evening, she realized she was further to the west of the house than she had thought- she looked out into a side yard, not the front yard- if you can really call it a yard. It, like the room, was MASSIVE. A garden full of snow and carved-out walkways of stone stared back at her, stilled by the growing night shades as the sky's sun dipped abruptly down and out of sight. It was now officially her first night she would spend at the mansion of the Igarashi's.

Sighing and feeling bad for whatever had caused the slammed door (she had no good experiences with that- either the door was slamming in her face or she was slamming it in another's, it was never good) she laid herself out on the bed, her fingers smoothing over the delicate strands of fabric of the cream blanket topping the maroon bedding, folded neatly by the edge of the pillows. And, feeling tired to her very bones, her eyes aching from just looking up, she closed herself off from the new world she'd been placed in and fell into a light sleep.

* * *

Tora was bemused when he saw the way she stared at him as she walked in on him earlier- him, his magnificent self, bedecking a maid with all his charms.

He liked her, the girl. She had something in her eye that glinted, whether she was angry with him or shocked, or smiling at another and being polite. Her eyes just... had that thing to them. A fierce glow in their silvery-blue depths.

He would be sure to fuck her by the end of the week, while staring directly into those eyes.

"Michiyo Akari..." he murmured as he rinsed himself with the water from the shower. He'd been playing with maids all day and he simply felt dirty. It was some time around or past 11 but he wasn't tired. So he'd opted for a cool shower.

He knew the girl had the nerve to stand up to people. He'd seen her in action. But what was interesting to him, was that she knew when it was important to speak up, and when it just wasn't worth her effort or time. Alot of people were too stupid to understand- they either got overly-hot-headed at just about anything, or were quiet as a mouse, easy to stomp on and crushed horribly by even another's gaze.

But she knew. And her gaze did not overpower his or become crushed underneath it. It simply leveled out with his own.

His grin disappeared for a moment. He thought back to when they first met.

_"You're just not worth my time. I don't want to have to put all my effort into anything about you, like everyone else does, because... you won't reciprocate. At least, not loyally or sincerely."_

He hated to think that he could be one of those things that was not worth her time or effort. He was worth everyone's time, and everyone's effort, and a lot of people sucked up to him in hopeful ways to get him to notice them, to get him to allow them the honor of just conversing with him!

And it also pissed him off that she could see through him like that. No one could really do that, (except, perhaps, his mother.) He was not one to mess with, to talk back to, not one whose intelligence or power or charms could be matched or apprehended.

But he had to admit- she had spunk. She had sport. She glowed with an air of truthful openness, but was strangely... a bit like himself. And by that, he means that she knew how to put up false smiles and barriers for herself, just as he always had. Not only did she know when to use her time and effort wisely, but she also knew when to tell the truth and when to bend it and mold herself into almost anything. Though he didn't know why she did it, he knew when people were lying and when they were not- though, strangely enough, she only seemed to lie when protecting someone.

She lied FOR people. He lied TO people.

It intrigued him, if only a little. And this was perfect, because, he'd become bored with the maids, and Akari wasn't unattractive at all- in fact, she was quite pleasing to the eye. With her wavy, shoulder-length, auburn hair streaked with bits of gold, slight hues of reds, and basic, rich coppery browns and her keen, thoughtful, interesting silver eyes that were the opposite of his golden eyes. Her pale features, her small womanly figure and face.

Yes, he chuckled. He would have her not even by the end of the week. He'd give himself four days.

Better get to work.

* * *

"Wake up."

"Mmmmmmmmm..."

"Come on, Miss Michiyo, get up."

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..."

_Man, can the girl moan. I don't even have to make her do it and she sounds appealing._

A sudden erotic thought sped into his brain as he looked at her. He looked and saw her pale breast poking dangerously out of her bra a bit, her shirt rumpled up and her sweater pulled down past her shoulders. It was not his doing- actually, he'd walked in on her like this. Lying upon her bed, still fully clothed, yet a tumultuous sleep had caused everything to sort of... start falling off.

Who's to say he didn't like it, though? Except he could tell, just by the slight glance he got, that she didn't have exceptionally large breasts. But at least she wasn't flat chested. It wasn't so bad, he supposed. Aw, well, he could bet the sex would be great despite her cup size.

"Excuse me, Miss Michiyo."

Another soft moan. She moves her hand on the bed and it brushes his. He pulls back and straightens up. Her touch was warm and light.

"Akari, for the love of god, get out of bed. Or at least get some proper clothes on for resting like that."

Her eyes already pop open at her first name. He sighs in surprise when he notices she's alert from the start, waking up in a groggy state should have been what she'd done, but she, apparently, knew how to even alert her senses properly. Even after such a state of rest.

He smiled at her once more. She was so damn set-apart from the other girls. He couldn't really stand not being able to place her in a category. It irked his morals.

"Igarashi... boy..." she mumbled, standing up abruptly- on the other side of the bed, that is.

He smiled even more. But she didn't blush as most did, did not bow respectfully, did not look away shyly. She simply stared for a moment, her small mouth opening up into a yawn she didn't even bother to stifle in front of him.

"Yes, I am the Igarashi boy. I thought I'd introduced myself properly the last time we'd met, Akari-chan?"

Her gaze leveled with his, like it always did. She seemed oblivious to his dark flirtatious tone.

"Oh, you want me to call you Tora?"

"You're very blunt." He said casually, acting a tad bored while his eyes raked her body now that she was standing before him. Subconsciously, she tugged her sweater back around herself.

"Okay." Was all she replied.

Silence.

"So why did you wake me up? It must be important, since you came all the way to my room and walked in unannounced and all."

Suddenly, his expression changed so he was now smirking. She didn't trust that smirk, she wouldn't even if it killed her, she'd never trust it. He could see that in her eyes. He would break her restraint, though. She would soon cease her resistant ways.

"Yes, must be..." He said slowly, drawing out the end of the sentence with his eyes sparkling.

Then, he maneuvers around the bed, nearing her, but before he can make his move, she's abruptly crossing the room and lifting up the suitcase on the floor near the door.

Puzzled and taken aback by her unexpected movement, (normally, he could get near, harass the girl with his charm, get under her skin, and then get her under him) he stopped and stared blankly for a moment, unsure of his next move. That passed as soon as it came, though.

Tora Igarashi always had a plan.

"Haven't unpacked yet?" He asked, placing his hands in the pockets of his silken bottoms.

"Haven't unpacked yet..." She mumbled, more to herself then to him. Carefully, she slid the suitcase up and over to one of the closets by the door, opened it, and then sat back to gawk at the space inside.

It was a wide, open, full room. A smaller room, but still an actual room. And there were already things like dresses and shoes going in a straight line down one side of the wall.

"How am I supposed to-?"

Tora waved his hand dismissively, nearing her small figure. He casually edged her into the closet with him. The door closed behind them with a slight creak. The suitcase was left abandoned on the floor as he neared her, slinking an arm up around her upper body and pulling her closer to his face. The closet was dark and she gasped a bit at the contact and the situation.

"I'll have a maid sort your clothing for you. Or I could..." He said, suggestively fingering her sweater until it slid all the way off and onto the floor. He couldn't very much see her, so he scowled and reached for the wall, finding the light button.

The lights flicked on aggressively bright and they both squinted until he dimmed them to a dull, romantic-like orange. It was more eery in her opinion. He smiled at her peeking chest from her lace-edged, simple white bra that lay just underneath a thin tank top. Lower still, he sought out the black fabric of her pants, dress pants, for meeting his family earlier that day. He smirked at how she refused so obviously to wear a dress. Though it was cold outside, the ladies wore dresses when they were supposed to. Apparently, she was either stubborn, didn't care, or both.

"How rude. I thought you were supposed to be some kind of profound gentleman. Staring like that is just the look I'd expect from some kind of animal."

His golden eyes, glowing like a cats in the dim lighting, found her silver ones and he almost smiled, for real. Just because he was happy she wasn't the overly-aggressive type- Misaki Ayuzawa of Seika High School had certainly bruised him a bit many times and it got aggravating more than painful. Annoying, pesky, and the slight pain felt stupid to feel.

He decided to voice his thoughts.

"You're not going to stop me? Or try to?"

"I am trying to. Mr. Igarashi, force isn't the only way to win your battles, as you well know."

He regarded her carefully, gripping her wrists in each hand. He then looked down and started to fumble with her fingers, just for something to do as he spoke.

"You seem to understand me- or you think you do." He stopped fumbling and looked up, pulled her close, and placed his face just inches from hers. His breath hit hers and collided in a tingling cloud. "But I assure you, you do not even begin to know who I am."

"You assure me?" She glances right back at him so evenly, so equally, that he has to be the one to duck away. He- him! Tora Igarashi! He would never... but that gaze of hers made him...

To distract himself and her from his momentary surprise weak point, he takes a chance at nipping at her neck.

What she does next highly surprises him. She jerks back, almost involuntarily, and her face flushes a tad. He grinned while staring at her. She looked back, surprised at herself.

"I guess I've always known that..." she mumbled to herself, and he stepped up close again and grabbed for her hands.

"Known what?"

"My neck... I'm very ticklish there."

She should not have told him that, or at least not have admitted it (he could have figured as much on his own) for the next moment, he leans forward, hot breath across her neck, and tucking his nose under her chin, he licks. His rough tongue causes her to shiver, her voice shakey as she hides a squeal, but he doesn't allow her to pull away as he grips her, tightly, with his arm around her back and his hand holding both of hers.

"I'm shocked, Ms. Michiyo, you're astonishingly... _sensative_."

And with that, she blushes. A real blush that makes him smirk at her.

"What, think I'm handsome, Akari?"

She sighs derisively when he pulls away from her neck to speak.

"You know the answer to that."

"Hnn?"

"Of course, Mr. Igarashi, the entire country finds you attractive."

"Oh, so you admit to your feelings for me?"

She stares at him, levels with him. He jerks back slightly at her strong, certain look.

"Feelings, Igarashi? You don't know feelings. And, yes, I do find you attractive. You are handsome, anyone can see that. But, and you may mock me for this, choose not to believe me, but crazy as it seems, that's not what this matter's about."

He dives for her neck again, choosing that as her weak spot, her button to shut her up. But she only gasps as he nips at her skin, and then continues talking when she can.

"This has to do with the fact that you- that you always want what you can't have."

In the middle of smoothing his hands up her body, higher above her waist as he fondles her neck with his tongue, he abruptly stops. He glances up, watching her from his current vantage point.

"Don't make things uncomfortable here, Michiyo."

"You're hilarious. Really, I'm not the one making this whole uncomforting scene occur. I'm being serious here, okay?"

Pulling away and up, towering over her, he gazed at her with a look she looked confused at. A look he wasn't sure he was giving to her, because he was losing himself temporarily in his thoughts.

_Wanting what I can't have? How would she know anything about me like that? I can want what I want. The bitch needs to learn a lesson, even if she may be right. She needs to learn and know not to speak to me like this. Needs to understand what behaviour is acceptable here in my home._

"Know." He pushed her back a step, forcefully, catching her off-guard. "Your." Another slow, forceful step backward. Her palms were sweaty in his grasp. "Place." With the last word said, he thumped her against the wall he'd backed her up to, and leveled their gazes once again. Except this time, he thought he was the one controlling her. But no- it was yet another, strangely level gaze. His smirk fell a bit.

"Go ahead," She said, pressing herself close to his body enticingly, her gaze glowering. "Fuck me right here in this closet, Igarashi. Do it."

He leaned into her, too. He smelled her, ruffled her hair with his nose, took his free hand and traced her face, down her neck, down her stomach. She sucked in a breath, eyes half closed, expecting him to actually do it. And yet, her eyes still glinted.

Knowingly, they glinted. His shined right back, not giving any hints away. Or so he thought.

Sighing at her, at his own self, actually, he pulled away a bit. Her wrists were still crushed lightly in his grasp though.

"See. It's no fun if I just give myself up to you, huh? You enjoy only the things you can't have."

He snorted and pulled back, pulling her with him and back onto him. She, expecting it this time, flopped onto his chest and then pulled back easily, trying to take her hands back from him. He smiled, triumphantly.

"It's against your nature to not resist," He spoke with a gravelly voice, deep and persuasive and a tad on the seductive side still. "if you don't want something to happen, you will make sure it doesn't happen. So, Miss Michiyo, no matter what I do, you'll always be what I can't have. And that's just too tantalizing an offer for me to resist."

"So my resistance causes you to lose your own resistance? How unfair."

She was desperate now. He could practically smell it on her- the fact that she now knew he'd somehow managed to corner her. Literally and figuratively. He smirked and finally let her go.

"Some other time, we'll chat. I suppose you should get your rest. I recommend changing into some more comfortable attire, so your day clothes won't be ruined and you'll be able to have a more sound sleep."

Her amazed and pondering expression is the last thing he saw of her when he turned, exited the closet, exited her room, and wandered on his own way.

It was late. And now, he found, he suddenly could get his sleep. He just needed to wear himself out a bit with his new household plaything, first, that was all.

* * *

Fake and perverted.

Akari now knew a certain someone to be two specific things now, not just fake as she'd thought before, but also very perverted. Though she had guessed that before hand.

He was standing in front of her, now, holding onto her favorite bra. The one without all the lace- but it was a tad shimmery in the light and a deep, royally red color with a bow at the back hook.

"Baka! Give it back to me before someone walks in here." She hissed, watching the doors of the study carefully.

She'd just had breakfast, brought up to her in bed in her room by a maid, since she refused to come downstairs. After that she'd wanted to come to the study for a good book to read, maybe take a few up to her room, but as if he knew exactly where she would be ahead of time, she walked in to see...

Well, the blonde-headed, golden-eyed boy, Tora Igarashi. Leaning back against a plush sofa chair's arm, lengthy legs crossed over each other, long torso hitched to one side, and holding it up in both of his hands, above his lap- her bra.

"I'm sorry but this is mine." He looked at her, confused at her insistent stare, and for a moment, he sounded so sincere that she nearly believed him. He was that good. Then she shook her head rigorously and approached him as he chuckled.

"Give me back my... my bra." She whisper-screamed, reaching for it but missing as he pulled it up, over his head, out of her reach.

"Dear me, someone's not shy. I don't think I've ever heard a girl say it out like that so plainly. Normally, instead of bra they say 'thing' or 'what you're holding'."

"Baka! Bakabakabaka!" She jumped, trying to reach it, and then, while laughing, he hooked an arm around her, causing her to jolt forward because of her lack of balance, and they tumbled together over the edge of the chair.

He caught her lightly in his arms, her bra gone, she noticed, and they were splayed closely together, her in his lap, in the plush chair. Not wanting to, she blushed red, because she realized that her hand had accidentally fallen to rest in a forbidden area. His groin.

"Ugh!" She, frustrated, pulled her arms up to wrap around herself, protect herself, but he quickly grabbed the hand that was placed at his pants and held it there, grinning evilly.

"You can touch me... if you want to." He said smoothly, staring at her in a way that made her blush at the contact her fingers had, even against the fabric of his clothes. Was he...? He was aroused? By her just being in his lap?! She wasn't even pressed that close against him!

As if on cue, as if in sync with her mind, he pressed her ever closer to his warm body, and then inched her hand even more so around his... area.

"I thought you weren't shy?" He said, clearly enjoying her discomfort.

"I'm not going to be shy for you right now, Igarashi _I am angry._"

He just grinned down at her like that, smirking when she tried pulling her hand back away to no avail.

_Damnit he's strong_

She found herself not wanting to look him in the eyes, those golden orbs blinding her clear vision, and so she glanced down a bit.

He was wearing a pressed black shirt, button-up, with shorter sleeves since the heat was on full blast throughout every room in the house, since the air was so chilly outside. His neck was strong along with his jaw and chin, and she found herself staring blankly at his broad, outlined shoulders. His eyes caught her gaze, noticing, and smirked even more.

"I said you could touch me..." He said, and pulled her hand from _down there_, thank god, but then he used her fumbling fingers to reach past his collar and feel at his bare skin beneath the black fabric. He unbuttoned two, three, four buttons... until his chest was almost completely exposed directly before her very eyes.

Using her hand, which was firmly grasped in one of his as his other reached around her waist to hold her against him in his lap, he placed her palm to his skin, his firm pecs reflecting the soft lighting and his lean, well-put-together build glistening, all for her.

Except she was sure many a girl had seen this sight before, and even more than just this.

When she did nothing, not wanting to lead him on to do even more, he leaned forward to whisper huskily in her ear, "Resisting your urge to resist, Akari-chan? That's no fun!"

Flipping her over suddenly, so that she was now sort of straddling him with her legs but in a sitting position, he made sure to press her hand firmly, lower to his slightly-defined abs, his lean V of a body, his skin like melted butter, soft warm, slightly tanned... while his chin glanced hers and then his tongue brushed her lips, invitingly. She shivered, wanting to pull back. Even to punch him, maybe. But she, as he said, would resist her urges to resist. He had to get bored of her eventually, right? Every guy has a short attention span and he'll be moving on to the next thing before she knows it. She just had to make it easy for him, too easy, so that she wasn't desirable in his eyes anymore.

"Alright, Tora-kun~..." She leaned forward and nibbled his ear, slightly aggressively, and he seemed to stop his movements in shock.

"Hrmm..."

"Tora-kun, what's wrong? Why haven't you kissed me yet?"

She was thrown off of him then, and he got up abruptly, handing her her bra that was randomly placed on the floor. She grabbed it harshly, in a foul mood. He smirked at her swift movement, at her backwards steps, and she knew she'd been stupid and forgotten to keep her boring role going until the end.

He saw right through her act.

"I don't like it easy, but you're hardly that." He said, and walked towards her. She looked angry, she knew she did, as he lifted her chin with a hand, bringing her face upwards to his.

"You're magnificent, you bitch, and I'm gonna wait this out. My original goal will have to be moved back to a week, after all, though. But that's okay, the longer these things take, the better they are in the end."

And he let her go, just like that. Turning half way around, and glancing back to catch her even angrier face now.

"You can't trick an Igarashi. Especially when that Igarashi is me."

* * *

**A/N: I'm CeruleanKiss- nice to meet you :) thanks for reading my story!**

**So, just to touch base a little on where this story will be going- I wanted Igarashi to find love. Poor Tora really is just manipulative and cunning because he has to put up his barriers like that. And I think he deserves someone that he can open up to for once, so I wanted to write a love story with an OC for him cuz there's no way I'm giving up Misaki to him! She belongs with Takumi!**

**(perverted outer-space alien Usui + Prez. Misa-chan forever) 3 3 3**

**Anywho, hope you like what I've done with the story so far! Of course Tora's gonna act like a bastard at first- it'd be out of character if he didn't. Just bare with me, it'll get there, I pinky promise cross my heart scout's honor. **

**Toodaloo! Oh, and please, I'd very much enjoy some Reviews! I love it when I get reviews because everyone always has really good input and also it makes me feel like you love me and my writing! So please encourage me be showering me with reviews! (and if you also showered me with riches and chocolate, I'd be much obliged to that also ;)**

**Oh and just a random tid-bit/preview of the next chapter: I'm drinking tea right now, so I was thinking, whilst taking another delicious sip, WHY NOT THROW A TEA PARTY? I mean in the story. Wouldn't that be interesting? And also in the next chapter I want to go into Akari's background a little bit more, AND, surprise, it involves Tora's mother a bit. **

**Whhhaaaa you say? You don't understand? Then read on, and review for me peasants!... okay, maybe you shouldn't shower me with riches and chocolate. First of all- I'll get a sugar high off the chocolate. Secondly- I'm afraid I may turn into one of those tyrant writers who says they won't write the next chapter unless you give them more praise. .**

**CK :***


	2. Tea Tiger Bring Forth The Family Stories

**Chapter Two. Tea Tiger, Bring Forth The Family Stories**

Somehow he knew she and his mother would get along. Though they were certainly not the same person, he sensed they had their similarities.

And of course they were already on good terms, it would seem, since his mother was the one to invite Akari to live with their family.

"Hmmm..." Tora watched through a window in his room that was placed perfectly to see the two figures walking across the snow outside below. His mother was the taller of the two of course- she was a very tall, frail, and skinny woman- and dressed in an elaborate pink petticoat and scarves. Akari was the one to the left side, wearing a less-elaborate, royal blue coat and stumbling the slightest bit in the snow- yet still holding her chin up and keeping her head high.

They were obviously headed to the tea house- it was placed just ahead of them, covered in a frosty layering of snow. He watched as Akari reached for the handle of the door, yanking it open hard and pushing it across the snow so that his mother could enter before her. He smirked, and then his mouth opened slightly and he tensed when his mother tripped and nearly fell into the snow; even after the woman steadied herself, his teeth were still pressing on each other, gritted harshly and grinding.

His mother was really sickly, and lost her balance easily and would often faint. It worried him and thoughts of her never getting better haunted his mind- though he hated to show any weakness in his features, so when anything was mentioned about his mother's health he would act impassive about it and quickly change the topic.

With a glint in his eye he watched as the door to the little glass house closed and the blurred figures behind the not-quite-transparent glass moved to take their seats.

_The woman who birthed and raised me is having a private chat with the girl I want to have sex with. What kind of situation is this? Who authorized this anyway? _He thought as he kept his eyes trained on the tea house.

He almost tried to turn away, but either thought better of it or simply could not. His curiosity was coming out in his normally collected and uninterested nature.

_What could they possibly have to talk about? What were they saying in there?_

* * *

"Tora did what?"

"He licked me- can you believe that?"

The kind features on Mrs. Igarashi's face twisted for a moment into a scowl that sort of resembled Tora's, except it wasn't as... devilish.

"That boy... he's so troubled. You know, I'm not sure what went wrong. But..." She trailed off, adjusting her scarf on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

The woman's champagne-colored eyes lit up again and she laughed lightly, pouring herself some tea with shaky hands.

"Please don't apologize, Akari. I was going to say, that his personality seemed to slip and evolve around the time I started becoming ill."

"But you don't act very ill."

The woman laughed- it was a pleasant sound, like the sweet natural echoes in a morning forest, but it was slightly tainted with sadness.

"I am an Igarashi. And Igarashi's always stay strong." She takes a sip of tea. "Tora got that from both me and his father."

Akari looked away to stare out the glass windows. It was the type of glass where you could see out of it clearly, but you couldn't look in from the outside because they were tinted weird and blurred on the opposite side. It was around mid-day, the sun was bright and warm despite the chilly weather, the fallen snow had only barely touched the ground in a few small layers, and it was a clear, un-snowy, un-rainy, uninterrupted day. Quiet and endearing, soft and slightly warm. This day must've been the reason she was called to tea time with Tora's mother- they might not get another day like this since it was entering into the early beginnings of winter.

"Why did we come to the tea house?" she asked the woman politely. "Don't you have a tea room inside the house?"

"I like it out here. It's private, there are no maids allowed except when it's cleaning day, and is it not beautiful in here?"

Akari peeled her eyes from the window and gazed around the room. How she had missed the strange beauty of it until now, she did not know.

Three of the walls were a bunny nose pink, with one accent wall that was toffee-colored. Each wall was adorned with shelves upon shelves of knick-knacks and shining things, the shelves holding the objects were placed higher up, nearer the white ceiling. On the shelves, a few of the objects caught her eye: a glinting silver arrangement of beautifully intricate dishes placed on display, tea cups meant for show that were traced with diamonds, twin emerald eggs the size of fists and placed in holders, glimmering dancing figurines that looked to be made mostly from opal stones and alabaster, etc. etc. Akari's eyes rested on a particular area of a shelf on the nearest wall to where she sat, though. Her gaze was glued to the interesting adornment that was placed there. It was a golden-eyed glass tiger, sitting up-right in a regal position, with one paw placed forward on the ground purposefully, it's mouth closed instead of yawning open, closed in a secretly prideful, quiet and watchful sort of way. Underneath the clear glass, veins of black onyx could be seen coursing through it, meant to appear like it's stripes. The gold chunks for it's eyes looked very authentic and were probably real, and they almost resembled... a certain Igarashi boy's eyes.

"That's my favorite, as well."

Apparently, the lady of the Igarashi house was very perceptive and caught Akari's silent, paused stare.

"It's a beautiful figurine." Akari commented, looking back at the tea in front of her and lifting it to her lips.

"I had it made when I found Tora crying in the garden when he was eleven."

The younger girl almost spit her tea from her mouth. She couldn't imagine little Tora... or tears coming out of those sharp, dangerous eyes of his.

"When I caught him, he quieted right up. He thought it wasn't okay to cry, especially in front of others..."

Akari sipped more tea, gradually emptying the cup, glad to have withheld that spit take.

"He eventually told me, after much of my soothing, that he was crying because he was worried. Though he wouldn't tell me what he was so concerned about- he refused to." Mrs. Igarashi frowned for a short moment. Then, she warmed her face into a smile and continued her story. "He was so cute, when he puffed out his chest and put on a brave face, just for me. And to save his pride, as well, that was also important to him. The ways of his father certainly rubbed off on him early..."

Akari cleared her throat- the woman had obviously gotten lost in her own memories and it was making her uncomfortable.

"I apologize, I was losing track of what I'd meant to be an explanation. The tiger represents Tora- the name Tora means Tiger, after all. And when I gave it to him as a present for being so brave; I had continually told him that shedding tears was the brave thing he did, not stopping the tears and holding them in, but he insisted that his crying was the opposite of brave, that it showed weakness," she shook her head and sighed. "Never mind. My point is, I gave him the glass tiger as a gift for the brave act of letting his emotions show. He accepted it and kept it in his room, until one day, I came in here for tea, he was older then... and I found it sitting there, on that shelf, staring at me with his eyes. I realized then that he would probably never shed another tear again, it was like a wake-up call for me, telling me that my child was more like his father, less like me. None of us cry, I really hardly ever do, but I am the one of us who is in touch with and comfortable with my emotions..."

"I don't know Mr. Igarashi all that well. What's he like?"

"Your mother once asked me what he was like as well. She had met him, and hated him, quite honestly, but she knew that there was a reason I loved him. So, I'll tell you what I told her: What's he like? My husband... well, what he acts like to everyone but myself is completely different from what he's like when we're alone. He's regal, powerful, his words are enchanting. He smiles with a glimmer of arrogance, he can be manipulative, he enjoys the rich things in life and is very charismatic, yet one-sided in his thoughts. People see him as strong, respectable, and a bit harsh at times. Your mother thought of him as over-bearing and conceited."

"Okay, but, what's he like to you then?"

The woman smiled and stared into her tea cup.

"I fell in love with that man because of his wealth. In the beginning. Now, before you think anything harsh about me, I was just a couple of years older than you when I met him, and he was the most eligible bachelor at that time, with money and fame and all the glamour a girl my age then could want. Also, I was ignorant back then to what was truly important, I was a frivolous young thing, cruel and, at times, incredibly selfish and full of myself. When I met Tora's father, he greeted me as a perfect gentleman. I don't know what he saw in me then- I was so uninteresting and just like every other rich, spoiled young woman- but he made it his goal to pursue me. He was fruitlessly searching for a deeper part of me, and he would often ask me fairly personal questions, to which I would laugh and avoid his gaze. At some point, he broke my strained personality and brought forth the real me. It took a lot of time and effort and definitely patience on his part. That was around the time your mother became my friend as well. She had known me before in high school, actually, we were rivals then, but she had noticed that sudden change in me and we became the best of friends.

When I had been dating Tora's father for near to two years, exclusively for one, it was very suddenly pushed on him- the issues of his family, the importance of the Igarashi ways, the role he played in being the heir to so much power and wealth and responsibility. He snapped. He started to ignore me and that's when your mother started disliking him. She started noticing how he acted all the time after that- he was turning into that authoritative figure with the fake smiling and the glinting, emotionless eyes and the struggling personality. But I refused to give up on him. He was still so young and beautiful, and I wanted what we had back. I slowly drew out the other half of him again, the part of him that had helped me come out of my wrong-ways before. It was awful to endure, because he was losing his grip and I'd never thought I'd ever have to support him so much before, because he had always been the one to reassure me, it'd never been backwards until then. But, I was too worried to care how much work it took for me to do- I was going to save who he used to be. And I did... to a point.

Obviously, he's still a harsh and unforgiving man on the outside. You don't know him well, but you'll see what I mean once you get to noticing it. But, though he has a rough exterior, I saved what's truly him on the inside, and he leaves that for me and me alone to indulge in- he doesn't even let his own son see what a truly remarkable man he is. So, what is he like to me? He's gentle only with me. His sweet words are only meant for my ears. I am the only person in his life, and I'm sure of this, that he tells his secrets and wishes to, that he opens up and willingly is a true, real, not fake, person with. He treats me like a queen and ravishes me with everything he can- but it doesn't show on the outside, because he doesn't want to look weak. But I truly don't care, because as long as he is mine and I am his and we both stay the way we were at heart when we first fell in love, then that's all that I care about. That, and my son."

Mrs. Igarashi takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, and Akari just stares at this lovely, fair-faced woman, curious as to how she turned out so normal and open while living with her husband and child who were both so... robotic, fake, hidden-hearted. She still didn't get it, even after the lengthy story.

"Do you think that Tora will really end up as your husband is now?"

"He has already. Unless I'm not right about that." She opens her eyes to stare at the younger girl.

Akari nods in slow agreement.

"Yes... it's sad, isn't it? By the way, Akari, I apologize for Tora's actions thus far and for whatever he's planning to do from now on. I know he's not the best company, but what can I say, he's in his teenage years." The woman smirks.

_Ah, now I see that Tora in her. _Akari can't help but think.

"Although, you love him so much despite whatever he does or will do." The girl comments feebly, setting the tea cup that's been empty for a while now down on the small table they're drawn up to in their plush chairs.

"Of course. He's a wonderful son, with imperfections, yes, but he's still so wonderful."

"Well, I'm glad he has you. I think he's lonely."

Mrs. Igarashi gives her a pointed look.

"You aren't wrong."

A pause. Both are finished with their tea now, they've been in the room for a while.

"Can I change the topic?"

"I don't care. We should leave soon though, so my husband doesn't fret about my well-being."

"Right. I'll be brief- why am I here?"

"...Well... your mother made me swear on my life, and, my husband's life, AND my unborn child's life, when we were both pregnant, to watch over you if anything ever happened to her."

"So why didn't you ever visit when I was younger, if you're supposed to basically be my back-up parent?"

"Godmother. That's what you should call it, I think. And I didn't visit because I'm an Igarashi. We get busy, a bit too much so. Also, I had a little boy of my own to take care of, and in his toddler years, he wasn't just troublesome, but managed to enrage many of the maids, who would quit after a day of babysitting so I could never rest properly. I was too exhausted to worry about you, to be honest. All I could ever do was call your mother, or she'd call me, for our occasional talks whenever either of us could spare time."

"..."

"Something else you want to say before we go back, Akari?" The older woman asks as she carefully stands from her seat and pulls her coat back on.

"Thank you for visiting my mother while she was in the hospital. I always looked forward to your visits as much as she did."

A kind, true smile emitted from Mrs. Igarashi's face, and in that moment, she looked nothing like her son.

"Your mother meant a lot to me. And since Tora is plenty capable now on his own, I had to come because I have not been all that busy... would you like to visit her tomorrow?"

For a moment, as Akari is nearing the door, she pauses.

"My... mother?"

"Of course. I won't be able to come, this cold weather is driving me mad, and I'll most likely feel weaker tomorrow than I do today because my strength comes and goes. I've gotten used to the process after so many years. But I could arrange for a car to drive you. And if you want, I'll make Tora accompany-"

"He can't see her."

A pause. Akari doesn't turn around because she knows the older woman is probably sternly giving her a withheld glare on her back.

"Why's that?"

"Because it's my life and I don't want anyone involved when it comes to my mother. You are an exception, and the only one, and that's that."

"Understandable. Now, let's head back, I can tell it's about to snow."

* * *

"Tora."

He spins around, his eyes meeting and, of course, leveling, with the silver-blue gaze below him.

"What?" He sounds irritated. She had snuck up on him in the hall, somehow without him noticing.

"Can I tell you something?"

He scoffed, uncomfortable and aggravated. He couldn't tell if she was acting serious or not, or sad, or cheery, or what- she just looked like she had this mask over her features.

"Fine, if you need to."

"I'll be going out tomorrow on an errand."

Nothing more escaped her lips. Then, she started to turn away again.

"SO?"

"So I was just telling you to quench your curiosity when you realize I'm not here. I figured you get curious sometimes, what with the way you were watching me with your mother. By the way, the window of your room is very noticeable from the ground. I suggest pulling the curtains shut so that the whole world can't see into your privacy, and also finding less noticeable ways to spy on others than staring out a large window at them."

He freezes up, and she stalks away, that walk of hers maddeningly proud and charmingly languid.

"Vexing girl..." He grumbles, growls, clenching his fists and stalking (more like stomping) away in the other direction.

* * *

**A/N: ****Oh dear... Akari's throwing snarky remarks right back at the King of Snarkiness, isn't she now?**

** This is a long Author's Note but I swear if you read it it makes sense with the many extra explanatory things in it and such! It will save your life to read this! well... I wouldn't take it that far, actually. Hrmf. just read me!**

**I plan to have these two going at it like this continually until they eventually, you know, realize they love each other. But I will definitely drag out their love because [A]~ This story takes place after **SPOILERS!** Tora kisses Misaki (in the Manga- I have not read the whole Manga, but I did read around to the end) and thus, he knows he feels something for Misaki, and so, he cannot love Akari yet until I, the author, find a way for him to struggle past his Misaki affection. and [B]~ I HATE IT WHEN TWO CHARACTERS JUST RANDOMLY FALL FOR EACH OTHER WITH NO STORY BEHIND IT, IT'S JUST LIKE *boom!* they love each other! Just like that! It's like love fell out of the sky. I'm sorry but that bugs me.**

**I mean, you HAVE GOT to BUILD IT UP! I myself, am going to build up Tora and Akari's relationship and I swear, pinky promise, cross my heart, scout's honor (though I'm not a scout... just roll with it) that it will totally be worth it for when they eventually start having their FLUFF MOMENTS~~! and their other, more *lemony goodness* moments. . . eh-hem. **

**Okay, I also promise etc. etc. that this story won't be boring because of the prolonged relationship, because the sexual tension will strike in almost every chapter! Obviously this chapter was more of a fill-in-the-blanks chapter, but MOST chapters, there will be sexual tension so thick in the air, you can't even cut through it with Tora's powerful sarcasm. **

**Lastly, people, I know I JUST put this story up, but R&R, please, those who are holding their tongues, please! Rate and Review! I want to at least get some feedback on how good it is or not, because if I'm not sure my story is a good read for the public, then I'll start to doubt myself, and when I start to doubt myself, things just go downhill from there. :P So I'd much appreciate reviews, but as always, either way, I'm just happy you're reading along! ^_^**

**Also, another lastly, about Tora's mother: I googled until googling I could do no more of- I can't figure out what her name is, or who she is, for that matter. I tried to get more detail into the Igarashi family, but found close to nothing. I don't even know if she is supposed to be alive or not. So if you can tell me anything about his mom, dad, or other things like family quirks that they have going on, ANYTHING so that I can use it well in my story, I'd be happy that you told me!**

**For this story, obviously, I decided to go this route with Tora and his mother: she sees who he really is, he loves her for it and cares for her more than he cares for pretty much anyone else, so I basically had them have a close, well-bonded relationship. I also had her be alive, but sick, because I have future plans about that idea. As for Tora and his father- they aren't really close and he's less of a father and more of a business man to Tora, really. **

**Damn this is a long author's note... SORRRREEEEEE just one more thing I got to do...**

**BLACKMAILING TIME!**** ...JUST KIDDING! but next time, bad things will be occurring in the Author's Note... beeewaaarrree I'm slowly losing my normal edge and becoming a... a... a TYRANT! yikes! I may be taking on some serious oppressive nature in the future guys, bewarebewarebeware**

**P.S- you are all peasants and I find you disruptive to my tyrannical writer's mojo. Go wash up before the next chapter.**

**Love,**

**CK :***


	3. A Collection of Everyone's Dark Auras

_(disclaimer~ Iyiyiyi don't own Maid-Sama)_

_You're all so pretty after washing up for this occasion! Here is chapter three! ^_^ peasants. *-* get ready~ :) (I'm excited!) this chapter will be a little bit of a dramatic one. Kinda. With a teensy bit of fluff, no bigger than a dust bunny. Rate, Review, Follow, Favorite, and- Worship me. *let's loose an evil tyrannical laugh* If you do not worship me, then I'll start torturing our poor characters! Mehehe..._

_So while you read, I'll go see how the construction is coming along for my new torture chamber. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter Three. This isn't your story, Prez...**

Usui grabbed his girlfriend's hand, tugging her back behind him at random, up against his back. He grunted and his entire aura darkened considerably when a certain _other_ blonde boy stepped onto the grounds of Seika High School.

The last time he saw that face... he had barely been able to contain his murderous rage, and if not for Misaki's cute little body pressed so near beside his, her hands smoothing his arm appreciatively, calmingly, he might have blacked out and woken up to see that he'd accidentally killed that bastard Igarashi.

"Igarashi." He mumbles with a glare at his menacing blonde adversary.

The golden-eyed womanizer grins meekly in his direction, but his whole body, whole aura, is pointing toward Misaki. _Usui's Misaki. _He almost growled a low _"Mine"_ but controlled his possessive beast and only pulled her a tad closer, around to his side. On the inside, he was fighting a battle with the little-Takumi who wanted to bang Igarashi's head into the sidewalk and then scoop Misa up and whisk her to better places. But on the outside his face was a complete blank slate of calm. Meanwhile, his girlfriend was building up her energy for another one of her rants.

* * *

Tora didn't know what to do when he got bored that morning. He'd, of course, went straight to harass his play-thing, but she wasn't in her locked room (he had a key, of course he could have access to her if he wanted, even if she had wrongly assumed that just locking him out would give her a shred of privacy) and he almost went out after her, but lost heart in it when his brain somehow traveled to thoughts of a certain raven-haired, bronze-eyed Student Council President.

It bugged him, this feeling he got, he didn't know he had it in him. Real, true, iron-binding and throat-parching, infatuation. In the limo, he could have had about five full glasses of sparkling water- his throat felt that dry at the moment as they pulled up in front of the familiar, none-too-grand High School.

It was actually a school day, though he didn't have to go because his school was having the week off for business reasons between the teachers and other staff. He wasn't all that interested in what it was about, therefore, he didn't know what exactly it was about. He just was dwelling in the fact that he didn't have school for quite some time until the week ended.

The word 'Igarashi' said in a none-too-polite manner met his ears the moment he set one foot on the grounds. He looked up to grin at Usui, but his mind wasn't interested in the other male, but the delicious female half-hidden behind the guy's darkened form. The auras rolling off of the two of them were so dark, Tora almost thought the day might have turned to night right then as they stared hard at him. He was indeed in dangerous territory. How fun!

"I just came by today... to visit the lovely couple." His tone was insanely duplicitous and one of his fang-like teeth poked out ever-so-slightly over his lips as he gave them both that look of his.

"Igarashi Tora- you must stop showing up uninvited to our school like this! This behavior is unacceptable and I still have a lot of work to catch up on, so you will keep this encounter short and then be on your way."

The aura blazing from her was nothing short of deeply-evil and her eyes glowed in sharp flashing red diamonds of barely-withheld rage.

Tora just chuckled. His eye caught the Walker boy pulling Misaki tighter to his torso, and he felt his own aura grow darker as well as he watched them like that.

Why? Why couldn't she be his?

"If I bother you so much," He sighed, dismissively shaking his head. "Then I won't tell you the news I have."

"What news? Make it quick- HEY!" Misaki glares over at a few boys doing something with the hose by the entrance. "STOP THAT AND GET BACK TO CLASS!"

"Yes, news about a new student transferring to your school. Another young girl."

Misaki visibly relaxed when he said 'girl'.

"Really? Well I didn't know about the transfer. Thank you, it IS rather convenient for you to tell me about that... Now get off the grounds and go bother someone else!"

"Wait," Usui, who'd been stoically silent throughout this whole encounter, spoke up suddenly. "I thought the girl living with your family would be attending Miyabigaoka?"

"Hmf. Well, that was the original plan, but it's changed." Tora smirked.

He'd certainly sent the ball rolling now. And Takumi wasn't stupid- he was figuring it out as they spoke.

"Alright, arigato." Misaki nodded abruptly to Tora, and then: "WHAT DID I SAY! STOP THAT, GET TO CLASS, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? BAKA! Listen to me the first time I tell you!" She yelled, her aura scary-black as she strutted after the quivering troublemakers who had just set down the hose to cry out, running in all directions, scattering away from the dark president.

Tora smirked at the scene, and then at Usui, who hadn't walked away yet.

Usui stared with that unreadable look

o.o

And Tora smirked more, raising a single eyebrow.

And then, neither saying a word, he turned, got back into his awaiting limo, and left Usui to attend to the fuming Misaki in the background.

So, that Walker boy knew about his plan? Very well, very well... there was nothing the green-eyed prince could do about it anyway.

That Michiyo girl would be going to Seika High and no one would be objecting.

He smiled as he leaned back into the leather fabric of the white seats in the limo, his plan unraveling itself fluently in his mind.

Oh, this, was only the beginning of a game that would definitely keep him entertained for quite some time...

And also quench that thirst in his dry throat that he had for a certain President. He grunted disapprovingly at his thoughts for a moment- and anger at her suddenly set in.

That girl had marked him, imprinted him with her charming strong will, and a strange form of attraction he had never felt before had occurred, building up ever since she had asked him to help her get that Usui Takumi back from his family in England. They had spent too much time together then.

It was becoming annoying, that he couldn't control his own thoughts anymore! What a nuisance she was to him. But at the same time... no! NO! Shit...

_This isn't fucking fair, dammit! She's not supposed to be placed so deeply into my thoughts! _He shakes his head. _She doesn't even belong in this storyline! Why am I so hung up on getting her involved? Fuck it. Fuck everything. I have to go find that stupid toy of mine now._

* * *

Flowers in hand, cinnamon-colored hair drawn up into a ponytail and a fluffy coat snugly hugging her frame, Michiyo Akari stepped around on the area's of melted snow, wet grass brushing the bottom of her shoes as she walked with silent purpose around the deserted area.

She passed a tall stone statue, ignored it. Passed by the usual oak tree she always remembered on her way down this path, it's branches stripped almost completely bare, with the exception of a handful of brown and red leaves barely holding on- and she took a steadying breath.

And, in the next few paces, she came to a stop beside a rounded, smooth stone in the ground.

She didn't read what was scripted on it- she had too many times to count read those words, the date of death, taken it all in with bleary eyes, yes, already she had done that too many times.

What she did do is crouch down, and brushed her hand over the snow that had covered up the small area directly in front of the grave. She pressed the flowers there- she didn't know what kind of flowers they were, she had just asked the staff member Mrs. Igarashi had assigned to her for the day to pick up anything as long as they were a lovely dark pink- her mother's favorite color. The snow may cover them in a few days with it's cold sheets, but for now, they looked beautiful, belonging there only to her mother.

"Okaasan... I miss you." Her eyes were bleary again, but not yet too wet. She wouldn't cry. She didn't need to anymore, it had been a while...

After her mother's unexpected death, Akari had been placed for a month in the hands of her father's sister, her unpleasant aunt Tana, as her father was a busy man much like the Igarashi's- with his tight schedule filled with dealing with rich-people-problems, he visited her three times in that month. And she was told he visited her mother's grave at least every day. So he wasn't an uncaring man... just busy. He had divided his time between work and what he loved most- his dead wife. And Akari knew she herself, his only daughter, came in third.

He used to be a family man, long ago, before his company spiked in it's worth and popularity. Before he became so richly well-known.

Yes, that man, before he had had to stop being a father to her, he was a great father to have in the beginning... he had been so doting and... she of course missed it.

But she had to say, she missed her mother much much more...

After a month of depression and eating too many treats to make herself feel better while she cried in her new room at her Aunt's place, Mrs. Igarashi called saying she had prepared everything with her family, the press, the schools and Akari's father- she was going to be living with her mother's best friend. Her godmother, apparently. So, in 24 hours Akari locked away her tears, cleaned herself up, brushed her hair out for what had seemed the first time in that month and put presentable clothes on. She got over her mother's death so that she could live more comfortably with the Igarashi's. She got rid of the sorrow in her heart in order to make room for the gratitude she would show the high-ranked family instead. She trained herself like a dog, her rewarded treats being the kind gaze of Tora's mother when she greeted her and lightly hugged her before they got in the car, the way that the woman smelled faintly of Jasmine- just as her mother had. The biggest reward of all being, just the simple fact that, she felt she had someone to watch out for her once again.

Carefully, using the back of one finger, Akari wiped at the beginning of the tears in the corner of her eyes. She wouldn't cry today. Not when there was so much to be grateful to.

"Found you."

The girl froze on the ground where she was. Though crouching the way she was was getting uncomfortable, she would not stand and turn around if that was the voice she thought it was.

"Michiyo. Come on, it's getting late."

Anger. Pure anger rose inside of her, and anyone within a few mile's radius could probably feel and _see_ the aura of swirling, purpley-black terrorizing darkness that was emanating from her form. Slowly, she stood up.

"WHAT. What are you doing here- _here_?!"

When she spun to face the blonde boy, his expression was not a smirk or an annoyed stare. It was completely impassive- flat, calm, not uninterested-looking, no, he didn't look bored. He simply looked, for the first time to Akari's eyes, _blank._

"I had to find out where you were. I know I said I wouldn't but, we have important matters to discuss and-"

"What's the matter with you? Can't you see just what it is I'm in the middle of!?"

He did not shrug, as expected. Instead, his golden eyes met hers, truly met hers, if only for a moment. Instead of her gaze leveling out with his, it was _his _gaze that leveled into hers this time.

A strange feeling formed in her stomach and up in her rib cage beneath her coat.

The look was gone before either of them said a thing. And then, sighing, brushing one hand through his hair, he spoke to her still-dark-aura-emanating form.

"I'll wait for you in the car. I sent your driver home, so you'll be joining me for the ride back to the house."

He didn't say to hurry. He didn't give her a time limit. He just- left her like that. She stared at his retreating back, pondering.

_What is this?_

She turned back to her mother's grave, a small smile on her face when she saw the color of the flowers again.

_Mother would hate him. _She thought cheerily, thinking of just the right scowl her Okaasan would make at the boy if she met him now. She sighed gratefully, glad she could still remember the way her mother was, the looks she threw people that annoyed her, the way she smiled, the way her royal blue eyes shined with a fierce glow, always.

When Akari was done reminiscing in the hazy glow of memories of her mother, she went back to the awaiting stretch limo, sliding in across from the Igarashi boy when the door was opened for her.

On the way back, they spoke not one word. In fact, when she glanced up at him, he looked to be dozing quietly in his seat, his head leaning back carefully, his eyes closed softly.

And then, a strange thought slapped her right in the face.

That was the first time ever visiting her mother's grave that she had felt... happy. Warm. Content. At peace.

All the other times, she was filled with a bone-crushing sorrow, a heart-ripping regret, a sob-inducing pain that seared her, that emotionally scarred her.

So what was different about this visit? She glanced at the boy again, and one of his golden eyes winked open, looking at her, squinting. When he caught her looking, he was very quick to shut the one eye again, going back into fake-napping mode.

She almost gasped, but withheld it carefully. The eyes of the tiger had changed, if only for a moment, into the eyes of something a little less... _animal__... _and a bit more... _human_.

* * *

So that plan turned to shit. He was gonna force her into the deal about going to Seika High...

Tora didn't know she'd be visiting her dead mother's grave though.

Oh for the love of god!

He stared, now, at her sleeping form in the seat of his limo.

And how the hell was he supposed to get her out of there and into the house?!

"Michiyo." He said, making his voice it's usual tone of unsympathetic and uninterested. "Michiyo, wake up."

The girl stayed silent, and stayed asleep. Her chest rising and falling rhythmically, her eye lashes touching her cheeks lightly past her closed, pale lids. He sighed watching her- it was a peaceful scene, after all.

Shaking his head, he turned around to speak with the limo driver.

"She won't wake up. Just excuse yourself while I handle this."

The man nodded and was quick to leave. Even he, the unimportant driver of our story, glanced back at the cute sleeping girl though- anyone would. It was pretty damn adorable.

But Igarashi altogether ignored that fact. His heart was relentlessly cold, remember? Or so it would most of the time seem.

"Michiyoooo get up!" He shoved her lightly with one hand, leaning one arm on the door that was swung open, and then leaning his body forward, in towards her sleeping form.

"Mmm?" She nodded, her head turned, and then she sighed and looked even more comfortable than before.

"Shit, well I'm not carrying you in..." An idea struck him instantaneously. "Or, that's exactly what I could do, eh?"

When she made no sound to complain against his wishes, and made no move to stop him, and instead started to look even cuter by the minute, he took that as consent for him to gather her lightly into his arms, resting her head to the inside of his shoulder, and closing the car door, walking up the drive to his large home.

His mother was waiting for them, just inside.

"Tora?" She looked questioningly at him and the girl he cradled.

"What." He snapped, feeling bad for doing so immediately after.

His mother just smiled, but not warmly. Her eyes glinted like his- knowingly, sly.

"Oh, she fell asleep? That's too bad, I wanted to talk to her for a moment abou-"

"Did you know she was at the grave site today?" He interrupted without thinking. The girl in his arms twitched, her head lolling back and forth, before she stilled again.

"I told her to go. She obviously wanted to see her mother."

"How-" He paused, thinking over his answer for a moment. "Alright." He finally said, shrugging the little bit that he could with a look of boredom crossing his features, and then he turned to go.

Mrs. Igarashi quickly stopped him by brushing her frail hand lightly against his sleeve. He looked up to see eyes a different color shade of gold than his, but a smile that was certainly identical to the one he could have, if he smiled anything real instead of fake.

"Please allow her to rest and then come down for dinner."

He nodded just slightly and turned with a sigh. For now, he'd leave the girl alone. His erotic thoughts from earlier as he watched her sleeping had subsided, and now, quite frankly, he could use a little nap himself. In a warm bed with her beside him...

DING! Enter more erotic thoughts...

He shook his head as he maneuvered down the halls. And then, even stranger thoughts came to him...

_Her body cradled by his body, their breaths deep and melodic in each other's ears. Her calm face so near his, the air not smelling of sex but of pure, clean oxygen filling his lungs as he sighed, slipped an arm around her sleeping form, pulled a blanket around the two of them..._

If he wasn't holding her right then he would slap himself in the face. He would never actually, literally _sleep _with a woman unless forced to by law! Really, what was the point? Sex was all you need to share a bed with a woman for.

He looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms and smirked.

_I have to remember the plan... she would be sooo good in bed, I bet. Her moans are already arousing enough and they aren't even mean to be sexual, her chest may be smaller than I like but I bet her nipples are soft, rosy..._

Shit, he had to have her now, his pants were tightening.

"M-Mr. Igarashi!"

Perfect. He smiled- that cunning little flip of the lips melting the maid who just came around the corner.

"Hello. I'll be taking her to her room," He nodded his head down at the sleeping Akari. "And then..." He neared the maid, a lady with certainly big breasts indeed, practically falling out of her bra. He licked his lips hungrily. "And then you're coming with me to... assist me with some... needs."

The maid blushed ruby-red and tagged along behind him while he set off to get rid of the sleeping form in his arms so that he could go attend to those 'needs' of his before dinner.

* * *

******A/N: ********T.M.I (Tora-Michiyo Itinerary- could also be Too Much Information like it's supposed to be, since these bits of T.M.I's that I'll be adding at the end of some of the chapters often DO have a bit TOO much info on the to-be couple)**

******It is a new segment in the A/N I like to call: T.M.I! Where I talk all about the Itinerary I have planned for our dear Igarashi Tora and Michiyo Akari pairing. But I fear I may get interrupted and be unable to do the segment this time, I have some guests over...**

******Misaki: Wait, why is this chapter called what it is?**

******Me: Because this story is supposed to revolve around my OC and Tora! And you interrupted our dear romeo's thoughts of my OC, so I was calling you out on that... This really isn't your story, Prez!**

******Usui: She's right, Misa-chan. Your story lies elsewhere... with me... **

******Me: Oh, hey, look, the torture chamber is done. *shoves the couple into a very dark room* Have fun in there!**

******Usui: I like it in here, Prez. It's fun.**

******Misaki: EEP! Get away from me you stupid, perverted, outer-space-wait what did you just do?**

******Usui: Oh, I found these handcuffs in the dark. And I cuffed your wrist to mine, so you don't get lost without me in here~**

******Misaki: ALIEN!...AH! What did you just do now?!**

******Usui: It seems my hands have minds of their own... sorreee, Misa-chaaan~**

******Me: This isn't exactly the torture I meant... this is more like a reward for my viewers... okay, time to REALLY get into it!**

*******POOOF!***

******Akari: Whoa. I just sort of came out of nowhere, huh?**

*******Author immediately ties her OC up and drags her into an separate, equally darkened room***

******Akari: What the hell is going on here?! Hey!?**

******Me: In order to live up to my oppressive standards, and to blackmail my viewers into giving me reviews, I am going to torture you. *POOF!* Wahahaha! (the poof was for this: now Akari is pinned down to a metal table with a lazer pointed at her body, slowly inching it's way up in between her spread legs, like in the spy movies)**

******Tora: Oooh, this looks interesting. **

******Me: Tora! How did you escape from your bonds?! I thought I tied you up and told you to wait in the next room before I even started the chapter!**

******Tora: I'm an Igarashi. Now move- **

******Me: No! You cannot save Akari, it's too late! Mwahaha!**

******Akari: No it isn't... the lazer stopped working.**

******Me: DAMN. Stupid cheap lazer- stupid eBay...**

******My dears, please be kind and R&R! (or else Akari will get it! I'll buy a better lazer for next time! Just warning you!)**

******goodbye, peasants! **

******CK :***


	4. School For Akari, Answers For Tora

**A/N: TMI time! (just a refresher if you missed the Author's Note in the last chapter- TMI stands NOT for too much information but for Tora Michiyo Itinerary- which is a self explanatory title)**

**Alright, Itinerary time!~ I have come up with a wonderful idea for a rival to appear very soon, a rival to Tora who is after Akari, who is NOT Usui for obvious reasons, so if you were thinking that, let it goooo. Tora will have yet another rival besides the blonde perverted alien prince now! And I'm pretty sure the rival will surprise you all- you will NEVER guess who it is! you could try guessing before the next chapter arrives though via messaging me and I may tell you or I may tease you ;)**

**Also, very next on the Tora Michiyo Itinerary I have planned out, there will be some building up sexual tension between the two more often after Tora's mystery rival comes into play. So let's wait and see what happens eh?**

**Awwwlright you can read now, sorry for teasing you with my later plans for the story... but I have to say, dangling a hook of bait for you is fun~ my dears~! (peasants. you're my peasants) wow I'm having a really rough time pushing away that tyrant of a writer in me... hehe. *sweat drop***

* * *

**Chapter Four. School For Akari, Answers For Tora**

Akari had awoken in her room, placed on her bed with the light cream blanket thrown over her body. Groaning after remembering where she was all over again, she got out of bed and changed out of her wrinkled clothes.

_Moving in with the Igarashi's... had almost seemed like apart of my dreams. But now that I'm awake... now that I remember my visit to mother..._

She shivered at the unpleasant wake up call. Suddenly there was a knock at her door, and then the handle slowly started turning...

"Don't come in!" She cried, barely having time to duck into the adjoining bathroom off along the wall by her bed before she heard footsteps from the other side of the bathroom door she'd just slammed shut.

"Michiyo?"

She winced at the drawl of that voice, relaxed, sure-of-itself, and always so tinged with an undertone of flirtation. What was a better way to describe it...

Sexy. She wouldn't even beat around the bush, Tora Igarashi had a sexy edge to his voice that seeped through in every word he spoke. To her, it was infuriating, and yet demanded her attention in ways she couldn't completely control. _God, _she _couldn't stand _that boy!

"Do you need something?" She asked from the other side of the door.

"Yes. Can you open the door?"

"No!"

A pause. And then; "Hm, why ever not?" He sounded like he knew why though.

"I'm... because you can't see me like this."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

Her face grew red, though from rage or embarrassment, you couldn't tell which one.

"There is no need for you to keep bothering me in my own room! I will talk to you at a later time!"

"Oh, but why is it that you can't just discuss what I need to say to you now~?"

"You know why."

"I already said I don't."

"You're implying that you are stupid then. Anyone could tell from the situation why I can't have a proper chat face to face with you at the moment."

"...Oh, I'm _sorry_." He almost sounded sincere, but she knew better. "I suppose you may not be decent?"

Akari felt her heart stop when she saw his shadow from underneath the door. He had stepped closer to it now.

"Well?"

"Well yes." She mumbled, face burning with irritation.

"I'll come back at a later time then."

And she watched as his shadow disappeared, pressed her ear to the door to make sure the sound of his retreat was real, to be positive about the door of her bedroom shutting with a prominent 'click'.

With a heavy sigh, her bare chest heaving, she, with great care, opened the bathroom door.

And there he stood with his back turned to her, as if that was polite enough. When she saw his head turning just slightly, she sprinted in a way that would make any Track team jealous and threw her body into the closet on the other side of the room, pulling on a plain t-shirt and the closest thing she could grab for her lower half- a longer skirt that reached to her knees- and she had only barely dressed herself when the closet door opened and he stepped in after her.

"You sneaky bastard... you didn't leave!" She said as he turned his fiercely golden eyes on her. He had feigned leaving just to see her nude! What a man!

He tilted his head after flicking on the lights, inspecting her from where he stood by the door, blocking her escape route. "Aren't you not wearing anything under that? I wouldn't be insulting me if you're in such a vulnerable position."

She couldn't help it- her thighs under the skirt pressed themselves together tightly as she shifted, and she folded her arms to cover her bra-less chest. The plain white shirt she had on would show her nipples through the fabric, and so she planned to keep her arms there for as long as it took him to get out and let her change into something less revealing. His prying, lingering, saucy gaze made her even more so uncomfortable, as his eyes roamed her whole body as if picking out all the little details in one long glance.

He smirked, and tried to near her until she snapped at him.

"You- you lecherous tiger!" She half-yelled, and side stepped to a different end of the closet, an end that didn't seem close to him.

"You're not any better, being the lavish temptress that you are."

Her face felt so red-hot it could have heated the entire mansion up, and she knew she was about to lose her temper; her slowly-fading sense of calm was leaving with every spare second he eyed her, every time he moistened his pressed, slim, demanding lips, and every moment his eyes seemed to spark in the dimmed lighting.

Sure he was attractive, but for some reason, she couldn't stand staring at that face. Always a smirk, or holding a demand in it's features, or showing off such a terrifically threatening look that it shook her strong core to no end of trembling.

"Can you stop it with that look on your face and just tell me whatever it is you came here to tell me?"

She watched him lick his lips again, more slowly, leisurely, and she nearly licked her own lips as well. His ways of sneaking those thoughts into her mind... oh BAKA! She had to escape this hell as soon as she saw an opening between the devil and the door.

* * *

He almost laughed at her- for getting under her skin and making her angry and uneasy was a very enjoyable form of entertainment. In fact, it reminded him of the time he'd trapped Misaki in his office...

But then, he had to stop and realize something- he indeed _had _come here with a purpose in mind.

"You will be attending school tomorrow." He was trying to be blunt just to annoy her.

It worked.

"_Okay_." She did indeed sound annoyed. "But- I thought Miyabigaoka was on a school break this week?"

He smirked, enjoying the red that came to her defiant face. She was frustrated and he took so much joy in it! And the pride that came with knowing he had caused it was immense as well. The bitch did need to learn her place, after all, and he always knew how to put people in their place.

"Oh, no, I'm afraid you _won't _be attending there anymore."

She gave him a distrusting look. "Then where-"

"Seika High School."

He was out of there before she could argue, and as the closet door shut he said; "Your uniform is folded on the dresser."

As he walked back down the halls of the inner parts of his estate, he chuckled to himself. This plan was going to work weather that girl liked it or not. He was in charge of things, and she had no say in it.

Yes... And soon, he would be seeing that Ayuzawa once again.

An image of her ember eyes popped up in his head, and he just laughed harder, the glee in his voice unmistakably present in his dark chuckle.

He was a young man who enjoyed himself simply too much.

* * *

Akari finished with one last curve of her wrist, flicking the brush through to the ends of her shoulder-length cinnamon-colored hair with a scowl on her face.

She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She was wearing a pleated tan skirt that hit just above her knees, a long-sleeved white button-up shirt tucked into her skirt, and a red clip-on bow at her collar. Seika High's female uniform. She was going to Seika High School in a little less than a few minutes. She had no choice in the matter.

It's not that she cared a whole lot about switching schools. In fact, she was kind of glad she didn't have to go to Miyabigaoka because she always did fit in better with the normal crowd than the stuck up snobs who were power-hungry and raised to be arrogant money-makers. The rich kids. Her mom had money from her rich and busy husband, sure, but she had raised Akari differently than to indulge mindlessly in their wealth.

She knew that Seika High would actually be more to her liking. But what bugged her to no end is the fact that she hadn't even been given a choice in the first place- Tora's power over her own life was unsettling and angering at the same time.

So NO! She was NOT in a good mood today. As it is thus demonstrated when she slams the brush down on the counter with a good, hard, 'THWACK!'

"Grrrrrrr..." She mumbles, barely audible. Her temper is being contained (sort of), but her aura is not- it's rolling off of her in waves of dark red blazes of fires mixing with gloomy, threatening clouds of black.

It doesn't help when, while she goes into the bedroom again to put her shoes on, there's a knock at her door and without being asked, in comes the Igarashi boy.

"First day of school. Should be fun." He didn't even seem to be affected by the waves of hate attacking the atmosphere around them.

"Hmf." She finishes with her shoes and pushes past him, trying to sort of shove him in a harsh way, but it only feels like she hit a brick wall. How strong was this guy?! That only angered her more and she growled under her breath again when he followed behind her down the hallway.

"So. I'll be driving with you over there today, just to make sure everything is arranged with Seika's President."

"How wonderful." The sarcasm and lack of enthusiasm in her voice was very evident as they stepped into the front hall and she moved to open the large doors now in front of them.

Being his swift self, Tora reached the door's handle before her and suddenly she was face to face with him, looking up at him with her eyes filled with a look of pure disdain. He narrowed his eyes back at her.

"Do you still find me unworthy of your time and effort?" He suddenly asked, catching her off-guard.

"Of course." Is her simple reply, and with a hard push she shoves past him, opens the door, and escapes from his uncomfortable close-proximity.

When they're both seated in the car, she chooses to very carefully avoid Tora and his gaze, and pretends to be checking in her school bag to make sure she has everything ready. To her grateful surprise, he does nothing to punish her for her earlier words just a few moments before, and the entire ride to the high school is left in a silence that she comfortably sinks into, her eyes shutting half-way as she stares lazily out the window, glad to pretend he isn't even with her while she wonders about how it'll be at her new school.

* * *

Tora was thinking about ways to put the Michiyo girl in her place right before he got in the car, but as soon as he was seated his mind couldn't focus on it. He was thinking about how he would greet Misaki now.

Some would think he had fallen for her, but that wasn't completely it. A lot of the reason he pursued her was because of the competition- lots of men liked a good competition, the rush from it was fun, and winning always boosted one's pride. It was a lovely feeling to win a prize against another competitive man, and Takumi Walker was more than a worthy opponent. Also, since Tora felt he had lost to the other boy already, he had to fix that because it was bugging him too much. He HATED to lose. Especially when it involved women.

He glanced for a moment at the girl sitting across from him. He was playing this little game about fucking her by the end of the week because of the same reason- he hated to lose with women, and Akari was certainly testing his abilities. She was something he couldn't have because she wouldn't let him and therefore he had to have her- she had been right about what she said to him on that matter.

His thoughts traveled back to that Misaki. She was... hmm. Well, he was continuing to involve himself with her partially because he couldn't have her, and also because she was so damn entertaining as well. And attractive. She denied him everything and that was oh so appealing to him, because he could normally have the whole world in his hands. He wouldn't exactly call it having affectionate feelings towards her, but yet he felt something there. When he had kissed her that one day in order to see the look on Usui's face, he hadn't really expected to like it as much as he did. But it didn't exactly feel... like he would want that for the rest of his life. So that certainly couldn't be whatever they call 'love.'

He sighed, exasperated. But how the fucking hell would HE know? It was hard to explain even to himself how he felt. He wasn't very in touch with his inner emotions, the way he truly felt about things. He had been faking his way through life far too long to remember how it felt to be true to yourself.

He glanced again at Akari. Did she know what he was like? She had hinted at it before, huh? Well to him though, she couldn't possibly know, no one (including himself) knew what he was like, truthfully. He just figured Akari had the same feelings towards him as Misaki did- despise, discomfort, a severe lack of trust, the urge he saw in their eyes to do something like throw him out a window as soon as he walked into the room...

Except he knew one thing was different with Akari. It was apparent in that look of disdain she had given him- she wasn't foolish enough to waste herself on him. Meanwhile, Misaki was too trusting of people, despite knowing she didn't trust him, to not oblige to his insistence on even holding a meeting with her today.

He wasn't sure if that was a turn-off or not. It meant Misaki wasn't as clever as he had at first thought, but at the same time it meant she wouldn't refuse him if he asked in the right way.

Shaking his head, he tried to clear all thoughts of both girls from his mind. It didn't really work- in fact, it only seemed to mix the thoughts up of them all the more in his head, and he fought the urge to punch the windows of the car out in his frustration with himself.

_Just go see Misaki today, re-associate yourself with what it's like. _He told himself.

So he would stick to his little games. Enrolling Akari in Seika High, using her to get close to Ayuzawa. Yes, this was working just fine.

Though for once, he didn't know quite where he was going with things.

This time, he raised his hand into a fist to punch out the window, only to find that the door was open and Akari had stepped out. Good, he didn't want to have to bother himself with the mess of glass if he had continued with his physical anger. He lowered his fist, trying to carefully compose himself.

* * *

"I'm Ayuzawa Misaki, the student council president."

The girl in front of Akari was dressed the same as she, with the addition of a green blazer, and was holding her hand out invitingly for her to take. Grinning slightly, glad the girl seemed to exude an aura of superiority yet not the arrogant kind, she reached out and shook that hand. Misaki grinned too, and that's when Akari decided that she liked this girl. She liked the school too- they were standing in nice clean halls, with warm-colored walls and a nice, comfortable school aura was everywhere. It was more her pace, for sure. Miyabigaoka felt more like a palace than a school when she had visited, and so this place was much much better. Though she wouldn't be thanking Tora anytime soon- she had a growing suspicion that he had a hidden reason behind having her enrolled here so suddenly.

"Hai, President Ayuzawa. My name is Michiyo Akari."

"You can call me Misaki, all the female students do."

Akari gave her a puzzled look.

"Then, what do the male students call you?"

Misaki's amber gaze slowly lowered to the floor, and she started grumbling a bit.

"What was that?"

"Demon president." A certain attractive blonde boy was suddenly standing beside the two girls, answering for his girlfriend.

"Demon... president?" Akari's eyes widened slightly. Why would they call such a nice girl that?

"Hello, president."

Suddenly Igarashi was beside her, he had been a little ways behind when she had been walking to the front doors of the school, and she didn't wait up for him. Misaki's head shot up and she was instantly turned into a scary-calm business-like young woman.

"Igarashi." The raven-haired girl stated. Though her tone was nice enough, her eyes burned with something along the lines of... well, an evil glare.

So, that's why they called her 'Demon President'. She was currently exuding an unpleasant dark aura, which only let up when the other blonde boy held her arm gently.

"What are you doing here?" The attractive young man asked.

"I have a meeting with your dear president this morning." Tora's eyes bore into the other boy's for a moment before they switched to Misaki. "Where would you like to talk?"

"Igarashi, I don't think it's necessary for you to bother Misaki about things. I can figure out how to settle in without your assistance." Akari tried, and she thought she saw the other blonde nod in silent agreement.

"No, no..." Misaki sighed, and shook her head slightly before looking up at Tora. "We can speak in the student council room about Akari's situation."

"Prez..." The other blonde boy started, but stopped when the girl shot him a defensive look.

"I'm fine on my own, Usui." But her gaze held something unconditional for just that boy, despite her angry face she was making at him, and Akari noticed it. They must be in love.

Akari looked up at Tora. He was smirking in triumph, oblivous to the fact the two loved each other, as someone like him would be. She wanted so badly to smack him, but didn't want to come across like a violent person to her new schoolmates standing in front of them.

"Anyway, can you show Akari-san to her class? It's starting in a few minutes."

Akari looked at the green-eyed, handsome boy at the President's side, and he hesitantly pulled his eyes away from Misaki, wearily eyeing Tora before finally resting his eyes on herself. He smiled, or tried to. Then his gaze was back on the president.

"Okay, Prez, but come find me when you're done, or I'll find you."

There was a suggestive tone to his voice that everyone caught, and Tora tensed in discomfort while Misaki's face flushed a bit.

"Stupid... baka Usui!" She mumbled, and with that, she and Tora went their way while the handsome blonde led Akari in the other direction.

She glanced up at him carefully. He had a small smile on his face that had been put there by Misaki's embarrassment, and he seemed nice enough. Though he certainly didn't make any gesture towards Akari at all, not even looking at her or bothering to start some small talk.

"So are you and the president dating?" Akari asked, somehow thinking he would only talk about Misaki if he were to speak up at all.

She was right and his gaze softened and he nodded.

"I'd like to think so, though Prez get's a little embarrassed when it's said out so straight-forward like that."

"Well you two seem really good together." Akari commented off to the side, more to herself than to him.

He looked down at her, his green eyes obviously happy but his face still lacking in emotions.

"Yes. She's perfect. But I'm afraid I fall short sometimes of the worthy title of her boyfriend."

_I don't see how he's any less perfect than Misaki is! Saying he's unworthy of anything at all is like saying that Igarashi is actually _fun_ to live with- something so untrue that I can't even... _

Akari was not one to hold back even after first meeting someone, and immediately she spoke up.

"Are you serious?!" She nearly smacked him, but withheld. "Don't you see the way she reacts to you? You are both so obviously in love that anyone would know that she is yours, and you are hers, and neither of you fall short of being perfect to each other."

He stopped walking for a moment. Actually, they were outside of a classroom- probably hers.

She glanced at his face, and he looked blankly amazed for a moment. You couldn't really tell though because his face didn't change much from a blank stare.

o.o "Really?" He asked in a low, flat tone.

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

O_O His eyes widened, as if he didn't believe her.

"Yes, _really_."

And then he looked upwards, pondering for a moment. Then he just shrugged, went back to his usual blank and bored expression, and pointed to the door.

"Here's your first class of the day, I believe. Homeroom."

Akari looked above the door to see a sign that said 1-7

When she turned back to the blonde boy, he was already walking down the hallway with his hands stuffed deep into his pockets.

"Hey, wait!"

He turned slightly to face her, stopping his pace.

"What's your name anyway?"

"Usui Takumi."

"Um... well nice to meet you?"

"Yes. You too." He gave a barely-there smile. She was guessing he saved his real smiles for Misaki.

And he walked off again. She shook her head slightly, thinking; _Strange boy._

Looking up at the sign above the door once again, she started to feel the beginnings of nerves forming, but before she could let herself start to feel the doubt seep in, she adjusted the bag on her shoulder, opened the door and peeked inside before stepping into the classroom.

* * *

"Well, seems like everything's in order then."

Tora nodded. He wasn't really paying attention- he just was continually cursing himself in his head for not doing anything up until this point. Their meeting was nearly over and he just couldn't think of a clear strategy to take. Plus, that Takumi would be back soon.

"Hey, Igarashi, can I ask you something?"

He looked up, staring right into those amber-bronze eyes of hers. He allowed himself to smirk at her, as usual.

"What is it?"

She gave him a look he was fond of, the same look she had given him ever since she'd confided in him and used him to help her bring Usui back. He had found now that her gaze, whenever she looked at him now, held just an inch of trust, of thanks, as if she almost could stand being around him now. They had grown closer then, when he had helped her out, and maybe that was why he hadn't made a move yet. He didn't want her to hate him and let all the time they spent together be forgotten. It was nice when they were... acquainted like that. He wouldn't go far enough to say 'friends'. And they were certainly not beyond friends as well.

"What is the current situation with Akari? I was curious... as to why she has to live with you."

Ouch. That sounded as if she pitied the other girl for having to put up with him so much, living with him and all.

"Her mother died." He said flatly, and looked away from her eyes off to the side. He didn't know what this feeling was that he got, it had to do with Akari though, and when he'd seen her at that grave site...

He had realized that death wasn't just serious, it actually happened. And maybe that's what got to him- because he was worried about his own mother's condition, and seeing how torn apart Akari was without her mother...

It wasn't like he didn't have a heart. He knew when to be sympathetic towards something. He supposed that was why whenever this subject came up, about Akari's mother, he treated it with such care. It was a fragile topic.

"Oh..." Misaki sounded heart-broken, surprised, curiosity leaving her. Now that he thought about it, the most important people to her were her sister and mother. And Usui. Maybe she was trying to imagine what it could possibly be like for her mother to actually be dead, like Akari's was.

"Don't feel bad about it." He said, looking back up at her. "These things happen. Just try to forget about it, because that's what she does."

"Akari has forgotten about it? I- I don't believe that."

He shook his head, his bangs parted on the right side of his face swinging into his eyes, and he looked down again.

"It's a careful topic. She hasn't forgotten but I bet she hates remembering."

Suddenly Misaki was standing, and walking towards the door.

"Alright, then let's stop talking about it. Thank you, Igarashi. We'll take good care of her here at Seika High."

He looked up at her, but didn't move from where he leaned back on a desk.

For some reason, looking at Misaki now, he didn't know how he felt. He had thought she had infatuated him, and that was why he had helped her, had kissed her, had admitted to the fact of liking her as a woman... but he wasn't one hundred percent positive of that fact anymore.

And then, just as suddenly as she opened the door, Usui was there, and he looked back and forth between them defensively before stepping close to Misaki.

Tora grinned at his opponent.

"Alright, yeah. My thanks to you as well." He stood up, straightening his clothes slightly. He looked up.

_Huh... have those two always looked so good together like that or have I just been ignoring it all the time?_

He shook his head, and started to pass by the couple. He stopped when he was on his way, still right beside the two, and an idea came to him.

He spun himself around then because he had to know. He grabbed Misaki and kissed her before either her or Usui could expect it. It was very brief, but it was just enough.

Usui was quick to pull him back by his collar and punch him in the jaw. He just laughed as he fell back, and when the other boy pulled his fist back for another blow, he side-stepped the attack and raised his arms in defense.

"I'll be seeing you again some time, when your lover isn't so riled up." He said, and then he looked at Misaki with a smirking gaze.

She wasn't anything special, his eyes seemed to open up to see her for the first time.

Her uniform was wrinkled. Her hands were too small, too dainty. Her raven-black hair was really more of any normal color of black, and her eyes were still that orange-bronze color, glaring, shocked, at him now, but she had shadows formed underneath them from working too hard into the night, from probably over-working herself with Student Council business. She could be any normal, over-tired high school girl, with just a slightly more defiant nature than the rest.

He sighed, finally content. And then Usui grabbed his collar and he found himself suddenly being glared at by two bright green eyes.

"Don't. Touch her. _EVER_."

Tora smiled, his smirk still there. He might miss having an opponent this fun, though.

"Hmf. You know? I won't."

He gripped Usui's hands and pulled them off of him. He didn't even nod to either of them, didn't even bother to say a pointless goodbye, just pulled himself together and strutted away from the pair.

To them, the scene must have appeared to be him being his usual, proud, lecherous self. Randomly kissing her, forcing his mouth to hers, it probably appeared that he was doing it just to please his needs, just to make them angry, to get their reactions.

But they hadn't heard what had been going on in his head. He simply just wanted to know something.

He just wanted answers.

And he found them.

Simple as that.

He smiled to himself as he stepped outside. The infatuation was, surprisingly, gone. Or receding quickly now. He had no idea how it happened, or why it had so suddenly faded- really, yesterday, when he visited the school, it WAS there. Just like usual. But that kiss had been as uninteresting as a paper bag.

_How interesting... _He now thought, with new interest in a new idea now.

Why had he gotten over Ayuzawa Misaki? Just when had it become so _un_interesting with her? He had to know.

"And I'll certainly find out." He said to himself as he made his way towards his awaiting limo, the smirk, even still, evident on his features.

He paused and for a moment frowned. Reaching up a hand, he held his jaw tentatively.

"Ow... that bastard..."

* * *

Akari surveyed those near her. She had just walked in and was told by the teacher where to sit, and that he would introduce her as soon as class started.

To her right there was a boy and also there was another in front of her. To her left was a girl, the only girl near her, since, when she looked around the room, she realized she was in the farthest corner, separated from most of the girls who sat collectively up front (but... she thought this was assigned seating? guess they didn't really care...) She was near the back with a small group of the guys, in front of her, and some scattered around her right side up the next row. She turned her head to see if someone was behind her as well, but was met with a bowed head covered by a grey hood.

"Are you new?"

She turned her head to her left, expecting to look into the face of a girl, as the aura to her left in that direction was sincere and feminine, but instead she looked into a pair of big dark orange/brown eyes, she would call them a coppery color- they were rimmed by long lashes, but the face certainly didn't belong to a girl, she knew. A guy with short dark green hair was staring back at her. Oh, so she really was the only girl back here.

"Oh. Yes. I'm new today." She said, trying to be polite to the cute boy beside her. He seemed friendly, maybe they could get along.

"Just for today?" He asked.

"No, no I'm here for good." She laughed a little, and he smiled, embarrassed.

"Oh- right! Ha-ha... Well nice to meet you, I'm the Vice President and second-in-command to our dear President here at Seika. Did you meet her already?"

"Misaki? Yeah, she seemed like a really powerful president."

The boy nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, she is. She has us guys in the Student Council working extra hard, but I like how we all can work together. It's a happy environment."

Akari almost smirked at the boy- he was so peaceful and girly. But she smiled at him instead.

"So, what's your name?" She asked, curious now.

"I'm Yukimura Shouichirou. Oh! And this is my friend," The small boy quickly grabbed hold of the hood of the person with his head down behind Akari. "Soutarou Kanou."

The boy under the hood just stayed as he was. It wasn't evident if he was sleeping or not, he just stayed as he was though.

"...Well, he's probably tired from our studying late last night. We have a test today in another class that we share..."

For a moment, Akari found herself wondering if the two boys were gay. That'd be adorable, she was sure they were cute together-

"We're not."

The voice took her by surprise, and she pivoted in her seat to stare at the boy who had now lifted his head up.

"I know what you're thinking. We aren't like that though." He said carefully, as Yukimura scratched his head wondering what the heck his friend was talking about. He was really innocent, another girly quality about him.

Akari just continued to stare at the boy behind her as he sat up in his desk and leaned back in his chair. He didn't let his hood come down, but it slid back a little as he turned to explain to the other boy why he was tired.

"It's not your fault Shouichirou, you really didn't stay over too late..." His words were lost to Akari's ears as she studied him.

His shaggy black hair was slightly blue in hue. His face was clear and he had a fair, light olive complexion. His eyes were the same dark blue as his hair was tinted, except they stood out more brightly, the coloring more vibrant in those irises of his. They looked like sapphire. For some reason, she found those eyes mesmerizing, interesting, and it upset her when she blinked and came to the realization that they were hidden behind black-framed glasses.

The sunlight came through the window at an angle right then that placed a bright sheen across the surface of his glasses, blocking her view of his gaze as he finished speaking to the Yukimura boy. His head turned towards her.

"Uh..." He said, the sheen in his glasses disappearing from the change in direction. He was staring at her with wide eyes, looking like a deer in the headlights.

"Sorry, I was lost in thought. I didn't realize I was staring at you like that." She apologized, and she could've sworn he looked a little nervous, as if he had just realized something terrible.

"Uh- uh-huh." He mumbled and immediately looked down at his desk. She continued to watch as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small golden disk tied through with a thin wire, and he started fiddling with it in his hands, as if to distract himself from her gaze, to avoid conversation.

"So, can I call you Yukimura then?" She asked as she turned back to the smaller boy to her left.

"Yes, that's alright with me." He smiled lightly again, his face all sunshine-and-roses.

"Alright, take your seats." The teacher called out, and when Yukimura quickly turned away from her and sat back politely in his seat, Akari did the same.

"Excuse me, you're in my seat again."

Akari looked over to where the noise was coming from. To her right, a girl was standing with her back facing Akari, and she seemed to be addressing the boy that was sitting in that desk. Oh, so she actually wasn't going to be the only girl back here, after all.

"Sorry, sorry, Aika-san."

"It's alright, Ryuunosuke."

The boy sitting in front of Akari suddenly spoke up, turning in his seat.

"Since when are you two on a first name basis, eh?"

The girl, Aika, blushed as she took a seat after the guy who had been sitting there, Ryuunosuke, stood up. The blush only added to her good looks. Her pale face with the slight pink moving across it brightened her eyes, her hair was longer than Akari's, reaching down to her hips in pretty, soft curls. It was a nice black color, like Misaki's, but also had artificial honey-colored streaks in it. Her big, baby-doll eyes were a pleasant milk-chocolate color.

"Come on, Seiji. I call everyone by their first name." The pretty girl brushed it off, but Akari didn't miss the way she glanced back up at the boy Ryuunosuke one last time, or the way his hand lingered on her desk before the teacher glared at him and he reluctantly walked to the other side of the room.

She smiled. These people seemed to know each other well, she hoped she could be friends with them, maybe. She wanted to make friends quickly so she didn't have to put up with sitting alone at lunch time, for that sounded none-too-fun.

"Huh." The boy said, and then he suddenly turned his head in Akari's direction, and gave her a look of surprise. "Who are you?"

"Michiyo-san, please come up to the front of the room so that I may introduce you to the class."

Akari just shrugged at the boy and got up, listening to the teacher's words. She walked with an even pace to the front of the room, and there she stood, waiting to be introduced. To her surprise, the entire class was looking up curiously. She would have thought they wouldn't have cared all that much, really.

"This is Michiyo Akari. She just transferred here from Miyabigaoka, so treat her with kindness and I expect you to help her out with what she needs until she gets used to the flow of things here." The teacher said, and then he nodded for her to retake her seat.

Akari instantly hated the teacher for saying the part about Miyabigaoka. _Technically _she had never gone there before (but yes, was going to); her mom had hired private tutors at the mansion they lived at so that 'her daughter never had to witness the horrors of public school' so she had never had to attend that school.

But since everyone knew what a prestigious school Miyabigaoka was, they'd probably label her as that rich girl that most likely got kicked out of her rich-people school for being too much of an arrogant snob. How fantastic. She already had a label and it wasn't even noon.

When she took her seat and the teacher said something about taking roll, the boy in front of her turned to look at her again, his eyebrows raised.

He was an averagely handsome kid, with long blonde hair pulled back into a short ponytail on his head and very bright green-blue eyes. Well, she was just surrounded by blonde boys in her life, wasn't she? Usui, this Seiji kid, Tora...

"So, that answered your question." She said plainly, trying to seem as polite as she could.

"Yeah, it did. But seriously, Miyabigaoka?" He asked, his eyes seemed to be searching for secrets.

She sighed when she realized that both Yukimura's and that girl Aika's attention was on her now as well.

"No, the teacher mixed up his information." She glanced up at the boy and the other two. They all looked slightly relieved. "I was almost going to go there, if I were to be honest to you. But at the last minute I was told I was switching to Seika, and I'm glad." She threw them all a small smile. "I've never been one to enjoy being around the kind of people who attend Miyabigaoka."

Her fellow students now visibly relaxed, the blonde boy even smiled at her.

"Nani? That's strange. I would think it'd be nice to go to such a luxurious school. Anyway, it's nice to meet you, I'm-"

"Akamine, Seiji."

"Hai, Imasu." The boy called out, and then laughed a little as he faced Akari. "Well, yes, that's me."

"Akiyama, Aika." The teacher said again, going down the roll call list.

"Oh, and now you know me too HAI!" The girl chimed quickly, looking up at the teacher to make sure he noticed her.

"Well, it's a relief to know the people I sit next to in class aren't unpleasant." Akari said, not really trying to be all that touchy-feely or affectionate, more like speaking her mind aloud.

Nonetheless, the boy and the girl looked a bit shell-shocked, and then they both gave her sincere smiles.

"Hai. And it's nice for us to know you aren't an arrogant bitch." Said Aika, taking Akari aback.

"Aika-san. Don't be so judgmental, we don't even know what the people at Miyabigaoka are like."

"Hmf." Aika brushed off Seiji's comment as if things like this normally happened. "I know that anyone with loads of money is going to definitely be arrogant."

"I have quite a lot of money though... and you just said I'm not arrogant." Akari proved quietly, and then she regretted it, thinking it sounded boastful or too matter-of-fact, and looked away and down at her hands. She wasn't very good at this, was she? She had never had to go to a school before though! So of course she wasn't!

Sure, she'd gone to big social events for her dad, so she could talk to people. But this place was different, and school in general was different.

Suddenly, Seiji started cracking up, and the teacher stopped his continual calling of names to glare at him. He steadied himself and quieted down, glancing back at Akari approvingly.

"You're not shy, and you're funny. That's good, shy people are always intimidated by me. And also, Aika hates it when people are shy about anything."

"Not completely true, Seiji-kun! I only hate it when you try to engage in a conversation with someone and they either completely ignore you or cringe away from you like you're the plague! That's fucking annoying."

The blonde boy rolled his eyes.

"Excuses, excuses. Just admit you judge people too easily and we can be done with this."

"Shut up."

And with that, the pretty girl pulled out an Ipod from her bag, connected it to some earbuds, and slipped them in her ears, scrolling down the playlists and nodding her head when she selected one.

"Sorry, she's temperamental..." The boy grumbled, shaking his head, his ponytail flopping slightly from the movement.

"No, I like her. Stubborn people are considered my friends." Akari smiled, and met his eyes. He looked like he was about to burst out laughing once again. "Baka, what is it?!"

"Nothing. You're just pretty cool, that's all." He said, and then turned back around in his seat, just like that.

"Well, _okay then_..."

His shoulders in front of her shook. He was laughing at her again. She kicked the leg of his chair to get him to shut up, but he only laughed harder.

"Baka, you're annoying, Akamine-san."

He glanced over his shoulder at her, but then the teacher was glaring at him again with a look like one-more-outburst-and-you'll-have-detention, so he turned back in his seat.

Akari sat back and listened to the dull monotonous voice of the teacher calling out names she'd never heard before.

"Fujiwara, Saki."

"Hai, Imasu..."

"Fukuda, Mitsuru."

Silence.

"...Fukuyama, Hiiro."

"Hai Imasu."

"Funakoshi, Ryuunosuke."

Her head bobbed up at that name. That was the guy that she assumed Aika had a crush on.

"Funakoshi, Ryuunosuke..."

Silence.

"FUNAKOSHI RYUUNOSUKE! I can see you right there! Pay attention during roll call or you'll get marked as absent, how many times to I have to tell you this?"

Akari glanced around the room at the teacher, and followed his gaze to the boy at the middle of the row by the door. He, too, had ear buds in his ears like Aika did, and was now taking them out obediently and staring at the teacher with 'I'm sorry' eyes. The teacher huffed, and then continued the roll call.

"Gakusha, Atsushi."

"Hai Sensei!" Another boy called, obviously paranoid about being yelled at as well.

They sure had a scary sensei.

"Hey, Akamine." She said in a hushed tone, patting the boy in front of her's back.

He swiveled even the slightest bit in his chair, and the teacher automatically looked over in their direction, his hawk-like gaze penetrating the both of them. Obediently, the boy turned the right way around in his seat, sighing.

Akari leaned all the way back in her seat, deciding to withhold her question for now. And then, something tapped against her outstretched leg, and she looked down to see a shoe bumping into her shoe, a white square sticking out from underneath Seiji's shoe. For a moment, she only stared to marvel at how much bigger his foot was compared to hers.

"Take it." The boy in front of her barely whispered, and she snapped out of it, finally understanding. Looking at the sensei to make sure he didn't notice, she then leaned down and he lifted his foot so she could grab the note.

Upon opening it, she read his messy script more easily than she probably should have been able to. It said 'What is it?' in blue pen.

Grabbing a pencil from her bag, she wrote down under his words her question.

'Are Aika-san and that Ryuunosuke guy going out or something?'

She tapped his shoulder and he reached a hand backwards, beneath her desk. She was quick to place it in his palm.

When she next got the note, it read; 'Hah. You're weird to notice that so easily. I don't know if they are, but I'm pretty sure they both like each other.'

She quickly scribbled a 'Thanks, I was curious and didn't know if I should ask Aika.' and then handed the note to him the same way she had before.

The sensei was to the K's now on the roll call list, and for some reason he looked over at her then. She smiled slightly back, her hands placed on the desk innocently, and he looked away and called out the next name.

She was surprised when the little white note was back on her desk a moment later. Seiji had reached back and placed it there as soon as the teacher wasn't looking.

This time, the words underneath her own read; 'No problem, Akari-san. Can I call you Akari-san? You can call me my first name if you want.'

She smiled. Making friends was easier than she expected. She glanced at the sensei, who had his back to them for some reason now, probably scolding a student at the other end of the room. She tapped the blonde's shoulder and he glanced quickly at the teacher before turning his head to look at her.

"Okay, Seiji-kun." She nodded to him, glad he was so easy to talk to and that he wasn't _too _attractive, so she didn't have trouble looking at him or talking to him like this.

He smiled, and for the first time she noticed his one dimple in his right cheek.

"Hai, alright then."

"Mr. Akamine! Do I have to move you to a different seat?!"

"But sensei, you said to help her if she needs something."

The man holding the clipboard narrowed his eyes.

"Hmm. Okay, well what did she need to know?"

"Where the bathroom was."

Akari immediately raised her hand.

"Um, by the way, sensei... can I use the restroom?"

A few of the students snickered and her and Seiji's little act, and the sensei reluctantly nodded.

"Take the hall pass and be back within five minutes." He said as she stood and passed the rows of desks.

"Hai, I will."

When she was about to exit through the door, the teacher leaned in closer to her.

"He told you where it is, right? Down two classrooms and turn left."

She looked over at Seiji. He looked both suspicious and worried, so she figured the teacher might be testing her to see if their story was true. He seemed like the type to do that.

"You must be wrong," She said with a feigned puzzled look. "He told me a different route."

The sensei's tense shoulders visibly relaxed, and she was glad she had guessed correctly. She really didn't want to face this man's wrath and she certainly didn't want to get her new friend in trouble either.

"Sorry, I probably am wrong. Go on ahead, then."

And with that, she left the classroom. When the man had turned back around, she cast Seiji a mischievous smile that he returned the gesture by laughing softly before she closed the door.

* * *

At lunch, Akari was invited by Seiji and Aika to sit and eat with them.

Of course, she had wanted to. But she had to politely decline because she had already been asked by Yukimura.

"Okay, so she already hates us!" Aika had said throwing her arms in the air while that Ryuunosuke boy laughed at her little act and patted her shoulder reassuringly.

"Oh be quiet Aika, no she doesn't. If you have other plans for lunch today, then, will you eat with us tomorrow?" Seiji had asked, being cordial as ever.

She had agreed to that, and now she was approaching the Student Council room, figuring Yukimura would be in there since he is the vice president. He had never told her where to meet- he'd never gotten the chance since the sensei had yelled at them for talking during the lecture.

"Hello?" She said upon entering.

Several boys looked up at her from the desks or from where they were standing around the room. Suddenly, before she could try to recognize Yukimura, she was pulled into a fierce hug that smelled like paperwork.

"I never got to tell you! I had wanted to meet with you at lunch, how did you know?"

Oh, it was Misaki's voice. She pulled away slowly, and looked at Akari with a certain sadness in her eyes that she couldn't place... no, pity. It was pity.

_But why would she pity me? Oh, wait. She knows that I have to live with Tora. That's definitely reason for pity._

"Yukimura invited me for lunch. I'd figured he'd be here."

"He's with Kanou, in the broadcasting room grabbing some things I need. They should be back soo-"

"Misa-chan! We knew you'd be in here! You've been much too busy lately~!" A girly voice said from behind.

"Oh, hai, sorry Sakura-chan, Shizuko...chan?"

Akari turned to see two girls, a very cute, pigtailed, strawberry-haired girl and a taller one with short hair and glasses. The taller looked rather angry...

"Misaki! Stop cancelling on us, you always leave me to deal with an upset Sakura. And you-" She turned to the strawberry-haired girl. "You need to stop whining when we can't find Misaki! I TOLD you we'd find her in here, didn't I? And look, I was right. Hmf."

As the three continued on like that, (the Sakura girl was now apologizing tearfully, the taller, Shizuko, was even more annoyed and reprimanding her again, and Misaki was sweat-dropping, trying to calm them down) two boys entered the room behind them, and her eyes immediately met up with first Yukimura's and then with Kanou's glasses.

"Hi, guys." She said politely, acting as if the scene in front of them wasn't happening.

"Um, p-president?" Yukimura started, but Kanou put a hand on his shoulder.

"Not right now, let's just put the stuff she needs on her desk."

When they moved, Akari decided to follow behind. Then, Yukimura turned back around to her and smiled, rubbing a hand behind his neck uneasily.

"Sorry... Michiyo-san... I sort of forgot to tell you where we'd be."

"That's okay, I figured you'd be here. Do you guys have lunch in here?" She looked up at Kanou, but he was looking at the ground. Maybe he disliked her...

"Oh, we don't have to if you don't want!"

She smiled at the smaller boy.

"Whatever you want, Yukimura."

They ended up, after much negotiation (because of Yukimura's good-natured insistence on having her choose where they ate and then her saying she honestly didn't care and then them going in circles about it for a while until Kanou finally stopped them), sitting in a few of the empty desks at the back of the room and eating together without talking too much. Whenever Akari would ask something of Kanou to try and involve him in what little conversation she had with Yukimura, Yukimura would jump in and change the topic with a strange tone of voice and Kanou would look slightly embarrassed or ashamed.

She couldn't help but wonder what his problem was. Or- maybe it was her?

* * *

**A/N: I need a vacation. (and holy sheeet this chapter was lengthy)**

**This story is kickin' ma butt cuz sometimes I feel as if I'm getting ahead of myself a little... or making slight flaws in the story cuz I'm just writingwritingwritingspillingmybrainsout and I just dunno... I may be getting story-insecure!**

**(And your lack of reviews doesn't help. peasants.) SHUT UP TYRANNICAL NUISANCE! *pounds fists into head***

**Really guys, I didn't mean that. I love you regardless of the amount of reviews or follows or other stuff that I get. I'm just happy to have someone reading my writing. :) You're all so great for tuning in to my story and though I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't enjoy your thoughts/critique in the form of your reviews, either way I'm happy because I get to share the inner workings of my novelistic (that's not a word, but it should be) brain with all you people! I love you guys.**

**Plus, I know I'm being insanely impatient because I've only had my story up for a very short time and I should definitely not be expecting the attention my inner-power-tyrant is craving, so I actually apologize.**

**LISTEN UP PEASANTS! REVIEW OR TO THE TORTURE CHAMBERS WITH YOU!**

**I may have a double personality... *raps knuckles against head* Anyone else in there? heeelllooo-?**

**Love,**

**CK :* :* :* (you deserved three kiss faces this time because I've been tyrannical once again. I hope my cerulean kisses make it all better!)**


	5. Stinging, Dancing, Kissing, Throbbing

**A/N: Hello. Warning: the character of Igarashi may start, from this chapter and thence forth, to come across a bit OOC. However, it is supposed to be that way, though I'm trying to keep him as in-character as possible, the whole point to my story is for him the find love, and he's going to start changing because love changes people. Okay? Okay, so I've warned you, please don't hate me, he's still the same Igarashi Tora we all know and love, (or hate, if you hate him- though I don't think you'd be reading or enjoying this story if you hated one of it's main characters) Like I said, I'm doing my best to keep him just as arrogant and perverted as usual and stuff, but he's going to change his ways a little bit because he's basically 'growing up' as he starts to realize his feelings. It's not just weird for you guys, it's weird for him, SEE even HE know's he's acting out of character! Anywho, warning over. Proceed.**

_***Disclaimer: I don't own Maid Sama/Kaichou wa Maid Sama or any of it's characters of the anime or manga. But if I did, that'd be so **_**grand**_**! But I don't. **_

**Chapter Five. Stinging, Dancing, Kissing, Throbbing**

Akari sat at the kitchen counter past the dining hall and into the massive gourmet kitchen in the Igarashi's home, eating a wonderfully cooked plate of baked Yatsuhashi (a Japanese dessert that has the texture of mochi *mochi: pounded Japanese sticky rice* and contains cinnamon, or sometimes has a red bean paste filling) -an after dinner sweet treat- while a few cooks and other staff members drifted here and there around her, ignoring her presence completely after she had asked to have the Yatsuhashi made. She didn't like eating all alone at the large, empty dining table in the next room- plus, there was less of a chance Tora would look for her here.

A bag full of homework lay at her side- she would get to that once she was done eating, maybe take it to the study because her room was apparently being cleaned by the maids at the moment (though she didn't see what there was to clean- she really wasn't a very messy person) but she was eating her food slowly and stalling- not because she didn't want to do her homework, but because she didn't want to leave her hiding place in the possibility that Tora might find her in the study.

She suddenly sighed at the blank, clean plate before her. It had just been too tasty a meal to not scarf down.

Standing up, she left her plate at the table and grabbed her school bag. She knew that if she tried to put the plate away herself the staff would look appalled, she had had that experience enough times in her own home, so she walked from the room and through the empty dining hall, out the door and into one of the grand hallways.

She was just passing around the next corner at the end of that hallway when she heard a certain loud crash coming from a ways back behind her. Spinning around after hearing a shout that followed the crashing noise, she ran down the hallway, listening carefully for more. She had to turn back several times- jeez, this house was just a maze and it didn't help that the walls made everything echo, and she was running around breathlessly for a few minutes until she stopped outside a door where she could hear continuous swearing coming from the other side.

She opened the door and rushed in, dropping her bag and looking around the room.

* * *

Tora had been in the dance studio room, about to indulge in one of his favored interests, the art of dancing, when he had been so lost in thought as he practiced his ballroom choreography that he had bumped into the table in the corner, causing an expensive (of course) vase to tumble to the floor and break into sharp-edged shards. Cursing at his flawed steps, his stupid, over-active brain, he bent to pick up the largest shards and place them on the table.

He couldn't believe himself, he was acting nothing like himself! Tonight he _still _couldn't come up with a reason for his loss of infatuation for Ayuzawa, he was being uncoordinated in _dancing_, something he was extremely talented at, and his thoughts, normally collected neatly and arranged accordingly, were jumbled into an absolute mess! It was so bad, he had now broken a fucking vase- well fan FUCKING tastic.

"...god DAMN IT." He shouted at himself as he was again so busy with his thoughts that he did something stupid, like cut his hand on the largest shard he placed on the table.

"Igarashi, what did you do?"

He stood and spun around, the unexpected visitor causing him to forget about his bleeding hand.

It was Akari. Her hair was coming out of a messy bun and she was slightly out of breath. She was still in her school uniform, but she had taken off the bow tie and unbuttoned the top of button of her shirt near her collar. Because she was probably running, the second and third buttons of her shirt had somehow also popped oven, leaving an open space for her slight and small bit of cleavage to show past the white folds of her shirt.

"Shit..." He said quietly, cussing for an entirely different reason now.

She stepped forward, her bare legs catching his attention. "Tora, you're dripping blood onto the floor."

He wanted to brush it off, tell her it was just fine and he would handle it, have the maids clean up the mess he'd made, but her silver-and-ice-blue gaze was instead keeping him silent as she approached him, grabbing his bleeding hand lightly in hers and shaking her head at his unresponsiveness.

He just stared as she mumbled in-cohesively to herself and examined his hand in hers, letting her fingers hover a trail from the end of his wrist where the blood dripped and back to where the cut was in the palm of his hand. Her eyes flew to the table behind him with the few broken shards on it, then to the rest of the cracked and broken vase on the floor, and then she caught him staring at her, their gaze leveling once more, his blank but surprised and hers concerned but suspicious.

"Are you trying something on me again?" She asked, not letting go of his dripping hand and not stopping her stare on him.

Suddenly, he snapped out of his silently shocked state and decided on a scowl.

"I cut my hand on the vase after I broke it. How is that 'trying something on you'?"

She stared at him longer, and when she seemed to decide he was being truthful, she sighed and looked rather perplexed.

"I don't know- you tend to try anything to get your way..."

"As charmed as I am that you'd think I would harm myself for your sake, I like my body far too much to assault myself with pain just to grab your attention." **(A/N: The total and complete irony in Tora's statement here will be understood by the time you finish the chapter)**

"Okay I understand that, but it just seems suspicious that you could break something without meaning to- you're unusually steady and languid, I wouldn't think you could ever be such a klutz."

He sighed and reached up with his free hand to brush the bangs hanging on the right side of his face out of his eye.

"Well, maybe I'm not feeling well." He said in an agitated tone that couldn't be missed.

She peered back down at his hand, which was still dripping his crimson blood onto the dance floor, and she then let go of him and walked back towards the door.

Oh so, she only came out of curiosity and was now going to leave him to bleed on his own and fix his problem alone.

But then he watched in mild wonderment as she crouched down next to her bag by the door, and rummaged through its contents. She came back to him shortly afterwards with a tiny kit in her hands.

"Don't smirk at me for this, but I keep a first-aid kit in my bag just in case." She eyes him warily. "I should warn you that I also have pepper spray, in case this really is a trick."

He looked down at her hands holding the kit- and just the kit. She wasn't holding any pepper spray, so he assumed she probably really does believe his story. Though she may just have it waiting in her bag, like she claims.

"Whatever." Was all he mumbled as she knelt down in front of him, beside the miniature red puddle of his blood, and opened the kit to reveal all of her first-aid supplies.

"Kneel down." She commanded as she took out some alcoholic liquid in a bottle and a few small, white things that looked like miniature napkins.

He obediently got down on his knees, avoiding the puddle of his blood, and then maneuvered to sit cross-legged in front of her. Though he didn't normally listen or obey people, he felt like there was no use arguing over such a small matter. Besides, she was actually helping him.

He watched her every movement carefully as she reached out and grabbed his hand, and he allowed her to take it. Her vision was focused on wiping away his dripping blood with the little white cloths and then discarding them at her side when one was soaked all the way through with the crimson coloring. When he looked down at his hand and the blood that had been trailing down to his wrist was gone, he could clearly see the long, sweeping cut all the way from below his pinky to the center of his palm. It was irritated and new blood was forming because it was such a fresh wound, but besides that it was really something not to worry about.

"I don't think I have to warn you about this stinging..."

He glanced up at her with quiet golden eyes, and then looked back down at her nimble fingers holding the bottle of alcohol in her right hand while she pulled her left hand from his own and grabbed another small napkin, dumping the liquid onto the cloth and barely soaking it through. Then, she reached out for his hand again, and he lifted it up from his lap and again let her have it. With an edge of the napkin that wasn't soaked with alcohol she wiped the reforming surface of blood from the cut, and then she quickly turned the thing over to it's wet side and started to gently press it into the cut, wiping it up and down, making sure it was clean.

Her eyes looked up and found his, which had been focusing so directly on her carefully-working hands.

"Does it sting?"

"Can't really feel it." He lied, glancing up at her face, too. Yes, it stung, but not enough for him to care.

"Mm-hmm." She mumbled, returning his glance for a moment before looking back down at her hands holding his, and rubbing the cut with one last, gentle swipe.

Then, she lifted his hand slightly, discarding the used dry wipe (which was now wet with blood and alcohol) and putting both her thumbs at the edges of his palm, holding his hand with care and inspecting it in the room's lighting.

"Do you want a band-aid, or I could wrap it with some medical cloth." She said, giving him back his hand and replacing the alcohol bottle after re-screwing the lid on it in her kit, along with the rest of the clean, unused dry wipes.

"Doesn't matter." He said, his gaze looking up as she stood up, following her as she walked around the room, found the trash can in the corner, and dumped the used wipes in it before turning around to see him staring at her.

"Why do you keep looking like that?" She asked, not walking back over to him.

He looked away then and blinked as he glanced off to the side. He wasn't sure, himself...

"Look, I know it's not normal for me to assist you like this, but I had a medical kit and you had a cut." He glanced at her slightly and saw her shrugging. He looked away again, and then glared down at his hand, which was starting to bubble up with red, resurfacing blood again. "Seemed like I should have done something." She finished.

When she walked back towards him, he was already standing.

"Thanks," He paused, and then; "Thank you for your assistance, I'll go get the maids to clean this up now."

He tried to walk past her, but she held out her hand and pressed it hard against his chest. They were closer together now, his body beside hers as he had been trying to get past her, and he turned his head to the side to cast a golden-eyed glance down at her.

"Wait, at least let me cover it up so it doesn't bleed and drip everywhere anymore."

He stood still and waited as she leaned down and picked up another dry wipe, and a band-aid. When she stood up, he allowed for her to grab his hand again and looked away instead of staring at her this time when she cleaned up the resurfaced blood, and then tore open the band-aid, trying to stick it onto his flat palm.

"Eurgh, it's not working..." She mumbled, pressing her fingers over the edges of the band-aid, but it wouldn't stick to the surface of his palm- every time she asked him to move his hand to see if it would stay in place, it just peeled off on one side.

"Just use the other thing you were talking about." He said after a short while, gritting his teeth in irritation. He just wanted to leave now, get a maid to clean up his clumsy mess, and then take a short shower and go to bed. Sleep would help him escape from the frustrating, disorienting day he'd had.

"Alright, if you'll be patient." She looked up and glared at him, he sneered back in response.

What a defiant, troublesome, back-talking, tempting, strong-willed, irrita-

"-IGARASHI, unclench your fist so I can wrap your hand already!"

He blinked at her, and then, looking down, he realized his fist really was tightened shut and he slowly opened it. She took it in her hand, her fingers gingersnap-cookie soft as they brushed across his skin, and then across his cut, before unrolling the small beige cloth in her hand and placing it over the cut instead, then carefully, slowly, and effortlessly wrapping it across his palm, underneath his hand, and then back over across his palm.

He watched her fluid movements with those burning-gold eyes of his, and listened to her soft breaths, in and out, as she continued to wrap the paper-thin layers of the cloth thicker over the cut. His vision filled with the sight of her, and the smell- that leftover hint of alcohol drifting in the air, along with how she smelled, like sugar, bean paste, and cinnamon. They were interesting scents to mix together, and both smells collaborated to make him feel a tad too heavy on his feet, his head too airy and light on his shoulders...

"T-Tora...?"

He opened his eyes again. He had not even realized his movements but he was leaning all of his weight on her, his one hand at her shoulder and the other one that she had been wrapping in the cloth dropped at his side. He could feel her entire body trembling beneath him, struggling to hold him up- he must be heavy for her- and he nearly shivered as he felt her hot, sweet, cinnamon-scented breath on his neck as he leaned over her, still a bit disoriented.

"Oh," He said, carefully pushing himself up. He stepped back, shaking his bangs around, covering up his right eye.

She simply stared at him, perplexed that he hadn't seemed to do anything except just lean on her.

"Tora, are you getting sick?" She asked him, walking forward as he looked up at her, brushing the hair from his eye.

"No. I don't get sick, even if it's winter season." He said plainly, trying to recuperate. Seeing her approach with a curious look of disbelief, he scowled and stared hard at her. "Michiyo, I said I'm just fine."

"I know. But I haven't finished wrapping your cut."

He looked down at his hand, and realized the cloth was gone from it, it had unraveled from around his palm and fallen to the floor and she had just now picked it up again.

"Give me your hand," She breathed, stepping up close to him again, reaching forward for his right hand.

He didn't respond but was once again staring. She snuck a glance upward at him, and then huffed and grabbed his hand anyway, carefully re-wrapping it in the thin cloth, layer after layer until it was thick enough to her liking. She knelt down, keeping the cloth pressed to his cut with one hand while reaching into the kit for a pair of small scissors. She cut the cloth, secured it around his wrist and between his thumb and forefinger with a tight knot, and then stopped herself, her hands falling to her sides, one of them absent-mindedly folding over her skirt. Her gaze looked up to lock with his again.

"I'm done now, and you should go call on the maids. Things are still a mess."

He just stared. His Aztec-gold eyes watching, demanding her attention even though they held no emotion, no nothing. They were simply an unreadable stare.

He didn't know what he was doing. He couldn't feel properly at the moment. His mind was, for the first time today, finally blank- and yet that was not better than it being filled with a billion thoughts.

"...Fuck." He finally spoke up, leaning backwards, away from her, looking away.

"You really... don't seem to be okay."

"Why would you even care?" He suddenly looked at her, his gaze darkening, mistrusting.

She glowered. "Should I not? Is that how it works for you- if someone doesn't care about you, then you shouldn't have to even bother about them?" She shook her head, exhaling. "That's a disgusting way of thinking. If the whole world thought like that-"

"The whole world doesn't think like that!" He growled, standing up straight. He noticed, he really was much taller than her, a full head at least. "Only I do."

He watched her carefully, she didn't even bother to hide the emotions that crossed her face. Scorn, resentment, pity, worry, sadness. Wait, what the hell? Her emotions had just dropped down, exceedingly growing all the more _sympathetic._ Sympathy, for him? _He_ didn't even get that for himself!

He smirked at her, giving that signature flick of the lips that he knows sets her off like a time bomb. You know what, he had had a shitty time today, the one time he tries to figure out his true feelings, and it ends up turning into a mess. Maybe he _should _try something with her. He was sick of feeling confused like he was, he needed to relax and return to his old, natural self who didn't care about things so much, who always kept his cool, and who didn't accidentally break expensive items in his own home.

"Akari~san." He said in a silky voice, stalking across the room and over to the music player at the wall. He turned it on, and smooth melodies of sound reached across the room, bouncing off the walls, surrounding the two. "Do you," He stalked closer to her with predatory steps, and she seemed to being frozen to the floor in her same spot, blanching at his sudden change in attitude. "know..." He neared her until he was a few steps in front of her, and then slyly extended one long, firmly muscled arm, and he held out his un-bandaged hand for her to take. "How to dance?" His eyes glinted at her in what he knew was a mesmerizing way.

"What? What are you-"

Before she could finish he grabbed her hand, pulled her abruptly to him, and they both automatically assumed the natural ballroom dancing position, his left hand holding her right hand, their elbows extended elegantly. Her left hand settling itself automatically on his right shoulder, and his right arm settled low around her back, holding her in place, his hand pressed to her back firmly.

He grinned evilly at her, one of his sharp canines poking out from inside of his mouth and over his lips, and he basked in the entertainment her surprised and partially-infuriated look gave him. She had only assumed the natural position because it was something that came with such a familiar ease, he knew, but he would now be able to keep her there since she was tight in his grasp.

"I would assume you know how to follow my lead," And he was backing her up and moving her around, they were suddenly dancing, sweeping together across the dance floor. "Since you have attended your father's social events and parties before."

"Are- are you drunk, all of a sudden, or something?" She asked, unable to break away from him or his gaze as they sidestepped the messy area on the floor and he glided with her to the other end of the room.

He laughed, throwing his head back, mercilessly leading her in his smooth, sweeping, talented steps, twirling her around too many times to make her slightly light-headed, dizzy to his liking.

"St-op." She faintly demanded as he dipped her elegantly, and then before she could get a break, twirled her around and brought her crashing back into his chest hard, all the while still laughing with mirth and sly pleasure.

He wasn't going to stop. He was going to continue, until he reached his goal and got what he had been wanting from her since the beginning...

* * *

Eyebrows sliding down and slanted low, eyes narrowed, half-lidded, and lips pulled in a slender, slim form across his face, pulled upwards slightly at the corners, his mouth opening just slightly to show a bit of white teeth between those smooth, inviting lips.

Tora Igarashi's smirk was one that was dangerously tantalizing, and something that could seriously destroy your brain cells if you stared at it for too long, Akari was sure of this.

As he spun and whirled with her in a fantastic blur around the room, the sweet, palpable music that emitted from the sound equipment and the low, deep, throaty chuckles that escaped from his throat were the only things she was able to hear. That, and the frantic sound her heart was making in her chest, slamming against her rib cage rhythmically with the music.

"Tora..." She murmured, her vision blurred by his guiding, long sweeping movements, her head wildly throbbing from being pulled and pushed along with him, against him, in front of him, beside him, around him- and her legs automatically on their own moving with him, wherever he went, following whatever steps he did. They could certainly both dance, both having learned from a young age, though he was a prestigious partner on the dance floor that was incredible in his movements, and she almost felt mediocre despite her years and years of training.

As if he knew when the song would chose to end (and, actually, he probably _did _know) he abruptly and swiftly pulled her to a stop, hovering her right directly in front of his extending and withdrawing chest, and they were both now frozen together like that, panting with their bodies now filled with adrenaline.

Silence wasn't filling the room for Akari, all she could hear were deafening sounds in her ears, a steady left over rhythm within herself from the song, her heartbeat dancing with the foreign rhythm, and then the sound just above her head, Tora's own breathing, his intakes and exhales coming as quick and breathless as hers.

She was so disoriented even still, though she was sure they had been stopped like that for a few minutes now, and her head felt light, as did her feet, and she felt that she needed to be grounded, needed support, and yet wanted to stay floating, higher and higher, the beat inside of her carrying it with her. She hadn't danced like that since before her mother passed, when she used to live at her dad's estate, and they held grand parties and danced until the night turned to dawn.

She had no idea that Tora had leaned in further until she felt a current of hot, enticing breath just below her ear on her neck. Her already red face felt even redder at the contact, and she glanced up at him as he leaned back just slightly to catch her eye. She was still panting a bit harshly, but his breaths came softer now, he had composed himself sooner than she had. His smirk was still collected there on his face, killing off what little remained of her brain cells. Her mind felt blank and it took her so long to realize just how close they were- he had stopped them in a different position; his arm around her lower back was still hooked there tightly, his right hand that she had treated his cut for clasped against her the lowest point of her back now, but she was pulled up into his chest, and his hand that had been holding hers was now at her face, his fingers ghosting across her cheek, warmth touching warmth, yet causing her to shiver at the touch.

Those warm fingers of his stopped suddenly, the trail across her cheek ending at her lips, and gently, he pressed his thumb into her lower lip, massaging it lightly, pulling it down, parting her lips for him. She watched his heavy gaze settled on her lips and then her eyes found his lips as well, no longer smirking but set into a serious, determined line. His own lips parted a bit the moment he parted hers, and, still dizzy, she reached a hand up and gripped his upper arm, his bicep clenching and flexing as it noticed her touch.

And then he was leaning in... his smoldering gaze flicking to her eyes before he closed them, and she copied his example, lowering her eyelids, seeing nothing but black, but smooth darkness, as she felt his hot breath now against her chin, closing in, the breath against her lips now, and she knew he must be very close...

She gripped his arm tightly, squeezing it in desperation as he pressed his lips to hers, sending a message to her still-dancing heart to make it stop beating for a moment. They stayed together like that too long, she should have pulled away immediately but her last chance at that was lost when she didn't try to escape those lips of his. She indulged in the taste- it was nothing and something altogether, it was strange, foreign, uninvited but yet it fit in with her to her liking. As their lips molded, as he crushed hers softly against his own, she felt his injured hand leave the spot from where he held her at her back and come up to her face, holding her cheek while his other hand reached back and pulled her hair out of it's severely messed-up bun, letting her short waves fall down around her shoulders, and then he buried a hand in it behind her neck, pulling her head in even closer, opening and closing his mouth back on hers, nipping at her top lip, then pulling at her bottom lip with those teeth of his...

The smell of the rubbing alcohol that cascaded into her nose from the hand to her left that was settled on her cheek was making her head even lighter, peeling away any restraint she could possibly have. And then his smell came to linger with it, the pinching smell of sweat, adrenaline, and a faint cologne that reminded her of spring rain- no- fall storms.

He broke off the kiss so suddenly she sucked in air very loudly, the lack of contact giving her chance to sniffle for air. She opened up her eyes to look once again, and saw his heavily lidded gaze looking more dangerous than ever before- predatory and lustful, not a safe combination.

Roughly he grabbed at her, his hands pulling and unbuttoning the fourth button on her shirt, and then the fifth... leaving her shirt hanging half-way open, her undershirt visible underneath, since she hadn't only been wearing her bra.

He growled and took off the rest of her shirt, practically ripping the rest of the buttons from their sewn seams and then yanking the long sleeves off of her arms. He pulled her into the wall then- his hands roaming her curves hungrily, trailing down her hips, stopping there to massage around her skirt, and then traveling back up her body, past her sides and over onto her arms, smoothing the bare skin of her forearms and then lightly touching her shoulders before daring to venture closer together, down lower, and finally resting, palms flat, against her harshly rising and falling chest.

She all of a sudden seemed to remember where she was and just what it was she was doing, and reached up both her hands to clench around each of his wrists.

"Igarashi, what are you doing?!" She hissed, her breath jagged but her gaze un-fogging itself, the leftover remains of the dancing and the kiss' adrenaline slowly receding to a darker place within her. It was like she was waking up from a dream she hadn't had any control over.

"Shut up..." He said, his eyes still half-lidded, his gaze still mesmerizing, trying to control hers, trying to suck her back in.

And she could have sworn, it was nearly almost working...

* * *

Tora Igarashi was being teased to no end. That mini bit of cleavage showing from beneath her button-up had tricked him into thinking she had nothing but a bra on under there, that he only needed to take off that one shirt to feel her skin...

But no, she had somehow come prepared with an undershirt as well, tucked tightly into her skirt and still only revealing that slight, teasing bit of cleavage...

But he would deal with that later. Right now, all he wanted to do was fill his needs to the brim with her. Her body was hot and the same as his, sweating and unable to be controlled by their minds. His hands roamed her, landing on his favorite part, and that's when she seemed to snap out of it. Asking stupid questions again and grasping his wrists, trying to pull him off. She was such a damn tease!

"Shut up..." He had muttered while looking at her, and that was right before he pressed his throbbing hips down low to reach hers, something throbbing even more between them. He was taller than her, so he was leaning downwards slightly- normally, it would be pushed into her lower stomach area if he didn't do this.

She had gasped, looking about ready to slap him and yet, she also looked turned on. Almost as turned on as he was. He found himself wondering if she were wet yet.

Well, why not find out?

When one of his hands left her breast, she let go of that wrist. But when that hand continued to travel south, until it brushed and pressed it's fingers over her leg and then under her skirt and across her thigh, she made another frustrated sound and was quick to reach at his hand again, her smaller fingers encircling his wrist and jerking upwards with all her strength, pulling his arm up only slightly so that now it was out of her skirt and resting in front of her stomach.

"Igarashi! Stop it, we- we still have a mess to clean up!"

It was obvious the wanton kiss was still holding an effect on her as well, because he knew that with a clear mind she could certainly come up with a better excuse than that. He grumbled and again pushed his member against her, hitting the spot directly in between her legs and causing both of them to moan together, their voices deadly-lustful.

"Let's add another mess to the first now then, so that we don't have to clean the room up twice..." He mumbled, his voice much lower than it usually is, and he knew that the kiss was indeed still effecting his brain and everything else too, because he knew he could come up with a much better come-back than that.

"Igarashiii... no." She groaned as he pressed his chest into hers, with her back against the wall, sandwiching her in and making sure to keep his hips firmly planted where they were, rubbing, circling, trying to make her break and agree to both of their exotic, animalistic needs.

"I. garrr. ahhhsshhhiiii... neh," She moaned louder as he used his last choice, the deadly weapon- his tongue- and her greatest weakness- her throat- before dragging it, hot and moist, from her collarbone and all the way up her neck, slowly, leisurely, to her chin. Stopping just below there, he suckled- causing her to squirm, which in turn caused them both to give breathy moans as their hips and inner thighs heated up on contact.

He pulled away when her grip on his wrists finally loosed themselves, and then he rapidly undid each button on his long-sleeved shirt, all the while keeping his gaze steady on hers, watching her red face carefully and seeing the way her pupils grew and eyes widened when she saw he was undressing for her like that.

"Wha-"

Once his shirt was completely unbuttoned he didn't have the time to throw it off before she started trying to object and ask questions again, and he abruptly pulled forward and captured her lips in their second kiss, the pressure building as their lips molded together and he pressed hers eagerly, causing her to stop whatever it was she had been about to say.

He pulled back, slowly dragging his tongue across her bottom lip in the sexiest way possible, and then he unexpectedly reached down, grabbed one of her hands in one of his while his other arm was outstretched with his palm against the wall behind her, enclosing her with him. The hand that held hers was quick to bring it forward- pushing her fingers to his bare abdomen, sliding it up his bare chest to where his shirt hung lazily at the edges of his shoulders, and keeping her smooth palm pressed to just below his collarbone, watching her reactions all the while. Her dilated pupils, her gasps when he knew she could feel every toned bump of an ab, the outlining of his tightly-bound muscles underneath the light pale-golden skin, her fingers glancing over the straight line dividing his pecks and separating his very well-toned but not overly-defined, abs.

"Remember," He said huskily, leaning closer, removing his hand from hers and relishing in the fact that her stare remained on what lay beneath his shirt and was now displayed before her, the fact that her hand had stayed were it was on him. "When I told you that you could touch me?"

Her gaze flickered warily to his, and he could tell there was a fire within her just like his, begging to get out and have it's way with him, despite the disgusting look she was trying and failing to pull at him. Her chin lowered and then raised itself- it was the tiniest nod.

"If you remember that," He said and now pressed his other hand to the other side of her on the wall behind her, now trapping her on all sides, front and back, left and right. He leaned in really close to her face then. "Then go ahead and do it."

* * *

Akari felt lost in a depth of golden flames and sunshine-tanned skin. Her brain was muddled yet her thoughts were clear enough.

_Run away, Akari! Do something Akari!_

When he basically just told her to touch him, though, she struggled better than before, which was surprising considering how nice his body was. But she knew that if she touched him, he would touch her then, and she wouldn't be having any of that.

"NO." She said, and he breathed hard against her ear, but blinked, highly surprised.

"You're so damn resistant and yet you want this too." He whispered, and she stared him right in the eye this time, peeling her gaze from his chest.

"And you are mistaken."

He narrowed his eyes, and let his tongue slip across his lips, wetting them. She thought to herself, the silent boy who she had been doctoring not too long ago was not the same person as the growling, glistening slick, fiercely yellow animal-eyed, hot, messy, sweaty teenager before her now.

"I can prove I'm not mistaken at all." He said with a sly grin.

Unexpectedly, something hard warm and throbbing with need pressed again, tighter, against the insides of her thighs. She panted like a dog, squeezing her eyes shut for a second, the burning in between her legs increasing in wetness and heat, and she whined at him for putting her in such a position. He groaned in front of her, a sound coming from deep down in his throat that succeeded in turning her on all the more.

"Akari..." He mumbled, throwing his head back and then forwards, touching his sweat-slicked forhead to her own, panting. "See... told you I could prove... that I'm not mistaken." He thrust again, and she could tell his pants were too tight, could feel it grown up between her thighs, and he got the response he wanted from her- she moaned his name, lightly, but still enough for him to hear.

He seemed to perk up from there, feeling more confident that she was breaking now, and his fingers traveled up her arms, he hooked one through the strap of her white undershirt, bringing it slowly down, off of her shoulder. He did the same to the other strap on her other shoulder, but when he tried to get the straps pulled down and off of her arms so that he could strip the shirt from her body, she was fast to grab each of his strong forearms, refusing to let him take it any further.

"No, stop it, stop..."

And before he could realize what she was about to do, she slunk down the wall and escaped underneath his arms, not even bothering to grab her uniform shirt as she hurried to the door, pulling the straps back up on both shoulders.

"I should get someone to sweep up the glass and mop up before the blood completely stains the floor, since you need to take care of, uh- your little problem." She said, turning to address him and becoming aroused all over again as she stared at his panting, reddened, slightly-half-naked form still pressing his palms to the wall, and pointedly eyeing his manhood pressing outward from inside his pants, proving what exactly she was talking about.

Before another word she zipped past the door, shutting it behind her and heading to her room to grab a shirt before she would go to address any of the maids about what had originally at first been the REAL 'little problem'.

But how did a broken vase turn into _an erection?!_

* * *

He sighed. In order to get rid of his, not little, but actually quite largely-sized problem, he would have to do more than just take a cold shower- he'd have to completely indulge himself in a bucket of ice!

"God fucking damn it all." He hissed, buttoning up his shirt and hurrying to his room before anyone could see.

It didn't take the young athletic man long to arrive at his door, and when he slammed and locked it behind him, all he could think to do was just get everything off of him, NOW.

He raced with himself to rip off his shirt and unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants- and then, when he was also free of his boxers, he took a deep, relieved breath and then stared down at the damage that had been done in that room.

He was absolutely throbbing and it hurt. That girl, that bitch would have to pay. He now was glaring down at himself. This, surely, was hell. And so she'll have hell to pay! Oh he'll make sure of _that_!

Did females even know what the male species had to be tortured through when they were teased like that?!

"GOD _fucking _**dammit**. No, they don't know a thing!" He sneered.

He touched it tentatively, groaning at the contact. How could she DO this to him?

No, wait. How could SHE do this to HIM? Him, TORA IGARASHI!

_You started it yourself, remember._

_Oh yes, and then she ended it, unfortunately._

"I know that!" He yelled at the voice in his head, and quickened himself into the bathroom, not having any care to hurt his pride by handling himself.

No, if he wanted release, you could bet his entire inheritance that he would definitely be getting it from her.

* * *

**A/N: I know. Very smutty. You likey? This is rated M, after all. Did you think they were going to rip each other's faces off? GOOD 0_0**

**It has occurred to me that my Author Notes are waaayy long.**

**What can I say? I'm talkative.**

**But I don't want to seem like an imbecile, so-**

**I will be shortening these things up unless someone wishes for me to stop and revert to my old Author's Note ways. Because I would do anything you guys want, really, cuz you rock *awwww's* (but you are still my peasants) **

**Short and Sweet~ Love yah'll, thanks for reading, and R&R, Favorite, and Follow! Oooh, is that called F&F? I dunno but I'm gonna call it that.**

**R&R and F&F, if you please, ****or else Akari will end up having to do 500 push-ups for her mean sensei, and Misaki will end up having to dress up as a cute Pokemon for Usui! heh.**

**Preview of what may happen if you don't review/rate/follow/favorite:**

**Usui: Oooh, Misa-chan! You look adorable! Say cheese~! *snaps photo on phone***

**Misaki: *sniff* w-whhyyy, viewers, why... AND WHAT THE HELL USUI, JIGGLYPUFF?!**

**Usui: You look cute even pink and fat, don't worry ^_^ *snaps 5 more photos***

**Misaki: O_0 I hate you all. Especially you, and you, and you... **

**...Meanwhile...**

**Sensei: I don't care if your arms break off, you weren't good enough in your own story for us to get any reviews, so this is your punishment!**

**Akari: One hundred and seventeen... one hundred and eighteen... *huff, huff* Jeez, you viewers... you all owe me one! I can't feel my arms! Umm... TWO HUNDRED...**

**Sensei: WRONG! You were not to two hundred, not even close yet! That's another hundred push-ups for you now because you tried to cheat!**

**Akari: D_: But it's not even my fault in the first place that we didn't get our viewers to listen to us!**

**End of Preview. R&R and F&F!**

**Sincerely your author and oppressive overlord;**

**CK :***

**(damn it, this turned out to be nothing like an A/N that is short and sweet! It's instead long and cruel! _ I'll try again next time)**


	6. A Masochistic Gemini & Prizes and Gifts

**Chapter Six. A Masochistic Gemini. Prizes and Gifts.**

In class the next day, things were a little more than interesting.

When Akari had walked in, she had been early, and there were only a few people in class, one of which was Seiji.

But he looked... different.

As she approached her desk and set her bag down, she eyed him carefully before taking her seat.

His long blonde hair was taken out of it's ponytail atop his head and now settled down to his shoulders in slight waves. His posture was dramatically different from how he had sat yesterday- instead of sitting up straight and politely, he was leaning all the way back in his seat, legs splayed out to both sides, arms pulled behind his head with his hands folded at his neck, and his head was leaning backwards, his eyes closed.

On top of that, when he popped open an eye as she passed by and sat down, his gaze was different. Less friendly and harboring more on an edge of arrogant. His clothes were also interestingly transformed- his uniform shirt was untucked and half of the buttons were undone, showing a glance of the skin of his chest underneath. His tie was loosened almost as far as it could be, and his sleeves were rolled up onto his biceps.

"Um..." She said as she just sat in her seat, and he unfolded his hands and settled his arms down on his desk, turning just his head to look at her with those blue-green eyes of his.

Except... now that she stared harder, his eye color also looked different. They were darker, not much of a sea-green but now more of a murky, dark, swampy-blue color. They glinted with a haughty air as he looked back at her.

"Hey."

She nodded, unsure of what this was all about.

"Yeah... how are you doing today?" She asked him in a light tone, though her brow was creased in worry and confusion.

He grunted, and then his gaze traveled down and stopped momentarily below her collar. Noticing his gaze, she gripped at the low V of the collar of the grey sweater she had on over her uniform shirt and pulled it up slightly- even though she was sure there was nothing to see there. It was like he was searching her and he could see through her clothes- his stare was really making things uncomfortable.

"Seiji, what the hell is up with you today?" She asked and his eyes traveled to hers again. She watched as he smirked, the grin on his face holding nothing of the smiles he'd cast to her yesterday.

"Sorry? Who's Seiji?" But he looked as if he knew, yet she could tell he really didn't.

Was this some kind of joke for the newbie? Did they think she was that stupid?

"Baka!" She returned his grin with one of her own. "Do you really take me for a fool?"

He eyed her, eyes narrowing.

"No, but I'll take you for a date sometime." He said, his mannerisms too self-assured for this to possibly be the same guy she met yesterday.

"Hmf. Quit it, Seiji-kun, the joke's not funny."

He gave her a serious stare. "But I'm not joking about that. And who the fuck is this this Seiji kid you keep calling me? By the way, my name's Kai."

She blinked at him, honestly perplexed. He sounded serious about this.

"Are you Seiji's twin or something?"

He gave her a blank stare, and then he started laughing. His laugh, which yesterday had been open, light, and contagious, had turned into something annoying and a bit too loud. She frowned at him as he looked back at her, his laughing fit over.

"I get it. This is some weird way of flirting with me, you know?"

"But I'm not-"

"What's your name?" He interrupted her, looking over her with his murky gaze.

"You know it already."

"I don't and if I did, I wouldn't be asking you, obviously."

"Fine. You know what, I'll play along. My name is... Mana." It was the quickest thing she could come up with and frankly, she didn't care to come up with anything more creative because she wanted this game to play out and be done with sooner rather than later.

But he looked so damn serious she had to start doubting he was lying at this point.

"Nice to meetcha', Mana-chan. I'm Kai, but I already said that..." He leaned forward slightly, and she scooted back in her seat, unsure of what to think of his closer proximity. "You wanna know a secret?"

"Not really, Seiji."

"It's Kai."

"No it's not." She rolled her eyes.

"Never mind. I'm telling you my secret anyway."

"No."

"Yes."

"NO."

"You turn me on. That's the secret."

And that's when she smacked him.

* * *

"Psst, Akari."

Akari looked up from her scribbled-on notebook, and glanced to her right and into a pair of serious chocolate-caramel eyes.

"I wanna talk to you after class." Aika said, and before Akari could nod her consent or ask any questions, the girl leaned back into her own seat and re-positioned her ear buds, beginning to nod her head again to music.

As Akari was looking up from her work, her eyes traveled across the room and settled on Seiji's back. He had been moved to the other end of the classroom when the teacher caught him harassing her again in the middle of the lecture, and her complaining finally came to some good use.

Suddenly his eyes found hers as he turned his head, and he gave a triumphant little grin. She did the immature thing and made a face at him before looking to stare back at her notebook, her brain filled with question marks. She thought back to last night and what she let Tora do with her... things she normally would try and stop him from doing before it even started. She thought about how Seiji was a completely different person today...

Had she somehow entered an alternate dimension between the time after dinner last night and now?

* * *

The two girls were in some shadowed corner outside on school campus, somewhere between the track field and the locker rooms. Kids were walking past them without noticing them at all, apparently the corner they were in was an easy place to go unnoticed. She wondered why they had to go unnoticed, though.

Watching as Aika took a deep breath, pulled out her ear buds, and opened her eyes, Akari was taken aback by what the other girl said next.

"Seiji has a dual personality." Her look was sharp and clear. "Do you know what that is?"

"I think I know what that is..." Akari thought about what the words meant, about what she had witnessed with Seiji, and nodded.

"He gets these things- triggers. They're specific things that cause him to... you know, switch back and forth. In the beginning, when I first met him, it was really nerve-recking- but you get used to it."

"What are all the triggers?"

"I don't exactly know. But something must've happened at his house today before school, or maybe he's forgotten to take his pills or something. Anyway, don't ask me how to change him back either because I don't know what triggers his regular personality."

Akari was quiet for a moment.

"So, how was meeting his polar opposite? Was 'Kai' pleasant to be around?"

She looked up and shot Aika a look that bordered on sarcasm.

"Him? Pleasant? He was trying to hook up with me in the middle of class, I swear..." She shook her head, sighing. "We have got to get Seiji back. How does this sort of thing happen to a person anyway? Was he born with it?"

"I dunno if you can be born with it, but Kai resulted from something that happened in Seiji's childhood."

Their eyes locked, both of them serious.

"He was almost killed."

Silence followed in their dark corner. And then, the whole story unfolded, Aika telling Akari all about her childhood friend and how he had come to be a victim of his personality complex.

* * *

Tora was just getting dressed for the day. It was noon and he was still tired, somehow, as if he didn't get enough sleep last night. And he didn't, so he guessed that made sense.

He flipped open his phone and dialed a number as his other hand opened a drawer to grab some pants.

"Maki. I need to talk with you." He said when he heard the voice of his trusted Vice President answer on the other end.

"Of course."

"Be here in no more than five minutes."

"I will do that."

And Tora hung up. He eased on his pants and thought for a moment as he then began to then search around for a shirt.

He was glad that he had Kanade in times like these. Actually, he realized he had Kanade at pretty much all times. The other boy was respectful and highly trusted by Tora- he knew that if he gave his Vice President any task it would be done, and it would be done shortly in almost no time at all and with great results. And sometimes, though Tora hated to admit this, the other boy could be more level-headed and rational that even Tora himself. It was annoying but a helpful notion in its own way.

He paused, now having a shirt on as well, and walked over to check his appearance in the mirror.

Damn his busy thoughts with it's jumbled mess of feelings and ideas getting stuck in his head, distracting him! He was wearing casual jeans but with a fancy silk dress shirt that didn't match with it at all. Normally, he could at least get himself dressed without trouble!

"This is-" He pulled off the shirt and threw it, not caring how nice the fabric was, he always had more. "So _annoying_!" He gritted his teeth in increasing irritation.

His cell phone rang and he answered it with a growl.

"Igarashi?"

"Yes?" He sounded angry and failed to dial it down.

"I'm here at your house, as you asked of me."

Tora wasn't in the least surprised about how impossibly fast the other boy had arrived.

"Stay in the car. We're going for a drive."

And with that, he hung up the phone. He admired his half-naked body in the mirror for a moment with a smirk of satisfaction with himself, trying to replace that with his anger at his seemingly growing absent-mindedness. Then, he turned back to his dresser, being more careful this time as to what he would be wearing.

* * *

"How are you do-"

"I honestly don't know, Maki."

That was how their conversation started after Tora had entered the car and sat down with his trusted adviser.

"I told the driver just to travel around town aimlessly for a while. You sounded like you had a lot on your mind when you called me."

Tora frowned, showing truthfully on his face how upset he was. In the presence of someone he trusted like Kanade, it didn't matter for him to keep up his barriers. At least not all of them.

"Do you know what it's like to get over a fetish you have?" He suddenly asked, not being very clear about what he was talking about.

"I don't have any fetishes to get over, I'm afraid."

"Well I do. Did."

"You got over her, didn't you?"

Tora looked up at his companion, visibly a bit shocked.

"Yes, I did, and I know you're happy about it, but I don't know what to do with myself."

Maki sighed, looking, indeed, relieved about Tora's release of interest in the unimportant maid. She was distracting his friend from what was more important- his work. And also, she had been the cause of Tora's constant sighing, his sneering in the middle of classes, his heightened irritation. It had been an unhealthy obsession.

But now, looking at Tora, he could see that there was another obsession pouncing in after the first.

And Tora knew the guy all too well to not notice the way he seemed to be disapproving of how Tora was acting.

"I'm not trying to make myself like this, you know!" He suddenly barked at the other highschooler, and Maki just smiled in return.

"I think you should tell me what it is you're feeling." He suggested. He sounded like a therapist.

Tora scoffed, but said nothing. He was thinking of what to say.

"I don't know what to tell you." He finally admitted, his brow creased in frustration.

"Perhaps you got over your first obsession, because another made its way into your life?"

Tora looked up, his golden eyes alert and fierce.

"What are you hinting, Kanade?" He asked, wishing the other boy would just tell him how that worked.

"In other words, perhaps there is a different girl that strikes you as a worthy prize?"

"Prizes? Woman aren't prizes... normally, they come as gifts."

Maki opened his eyes in the utmost feature of shock.

"What... I mean, excuse me. But did I hear that wrong?"

"Pleasurable gifts for me and me alone." Tora added, thinking to himself and smiling slightly.

"Come again?"

Tora turned his head and looked his companion in the eye sharply.

"_Sex, _Kanade. Every woman gift wraps herself in nice lingerie just for me to unwrap later on in the night." He pauses, thinking again. "Or morning, or mid day... the time varies depending on if I'm in the mood for it."

Maki looked visibly relieved. For a second, he thought Tora had possibly gone soft on him, but now he realized that he was stupid to think that. He knew that deep down the blonde had a heart, and kinder thoughts too, but he was never going to turn into anyone soft or poetic.

"But you're right," Tora suddenly remarked. "Some woman _are _prizes. A rare, rare few of them..." He looked out the window at the streets and cars passing by. "Those are the kind that interest me."

"Some, as in the maid girl?"

Tora waved a hand dismissively.

"I believe that was just a faze, Maki. She was a gift disguised as a prize."

"..."

Tora turned to look at the other boy.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm curious as to what differentiates women who are prizes and women who are gifts."

"It's simple." Tora gazed back out the tinted windows. "Gifts are given to you, but prizes, you have to win."

"Are you referring to the fact that women give themselves up to you so easily?"

"I am." Tora watched the huge white sky outside. It looked about ready to begin snowing. "That's what I mean by 'gifts'. And those few woman who are the prizes... well, they're harder to obtain. Because the whole point of a prize, is that you have to win it, you don't just receive it as you do gifts."

Maki seemed to be catching on quickly, and out of the corner of Tora's eye he saw him nodding.

"So who is a prize to you, Sir?"

Tora closed those electric-golden eyes of his and leaned back in his seat, sighing.

"That's the problem. I'm having trouble deciphering things lately..."

"There is a girl living with your family now, if I recall correctly." The other stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Tora opened one eye and peered at him.

"So?"

"Is she a prize, or is she a gift?"

"Neither." Tora was quick to reply, closing his one eye again.

"How's that?" Maki asked in a curious tone of voice.

"...Both." Tora changed his answer, eyes still closed so that he could focus better on his thoughts.

"Both? I don't understand, are you receiving her as a gift or are you chasing after her as a prize?"

"Neither."

"Hmm..."

"What?"

"You seem to be struggling with your thoughts on the matter."

"...So what?"

"So even though you still haven't told me the point to this sudden arranged meeting, I'm beginning to figure it revolves around your thoughts on this particular girl, and how you've been reacting to her. It would seem she's gotten you confused."

"I don't get confused."

"Now let's try to have you be honest with yourself, President."

"..."

"I apologize for my misconception, if I am wrong..."

"No," Tora sighed and opened his eyes to look at the other boy. "You're hardly ever wrong, Kanade."

The black-haired boy smiled.

"I appreciate your high opinion of me."

"As do I appreciate this little talk we've had. Are we anywhere close to that tea parlor that you like? We can discuss the progress of your new shop over a cup."

"It would seem we are, actually."

Tora smiled, a smile that was still very fake, but his eyes showed that he had found a friend in Maki. Though he never used that word- friend.

"Then let's have some tea, Kanade, before the snow starts falling."

* * *

School was just ending and with a tired expression Akari picked up her bag and slung it over her head and onto her shoulder. It had been a considerably long day today...

Mainly because dealing with this new Kai fellow was absolutely exhausting her of all her energy. The amount of times she had to slap his hands away? Surpassing thirty. The amount of times he touched her hair, sniffed it, rubbed it between his fingers, commented on it? Well that number was into the hundreds now. And how many times he had made sexual comments about her, she didn't even know.

He was so god-damned annoying and all she wanted was for him to change back into Seiji.

"Bye Aika-san!" She patted her friend on the back but before the other girl could speak Akari was already out of the room and speed-walking down the halls. (She couldn't run because she had seen Misaki yelling at a group of boys about running in the hallways earlier and it had sort of... scared her) Her goal was to get off of school grounds and into the limo that would pick her up before Kai could find her and harass her again, this time without any teachers to tell him to stop.

But no sooner had she thought his name in her mind then she turned the next corner and slammed into a broad-shouldered, green-blue-eyed, personality-disordered young man.

"Dammit Kai!" She through her arms in the air and went all chibi-form on him, slamming her fists here and there dramatically, waving her arms around, her mouth breathing fire as she spoke unintelligible curses at him, all the while with himself in his chibi form making a quiet v_v face.

Suddenly, in the middle of her rant he grabbed both of her arms, and she looked up, surprised out of her rage, to see his face. But all she could see was his mouth, because his hair was covering over and casting a shadow onto the rest of his face, and she watched in open-mouthed fear as a slight, meniacle grin slid across his features.

"It's after school hours, Mana." He said quietly, that smile still there. For a moment, she wished she could see his eyes but knew it'd be far too frightening if she could. But this was also frightening as it was already.

"I- jeez, Seiji, I told you already that that really isn't my name. It's Akari."

That grin widened. She tried to pull her arms out of his grasp but he was just as strong as he looked.

"Sorry, Mana-chan, but you continually call me another boy's name anyway, so I'll call you by the wrong name too." That's when he looked up, just barely enough for her to see his eyes, and his gaze was dangerous and glinted with a certain evil light in them. "To even things out."

"Oh, I did call you Seiji again and I'm sorry. Kai, your name is Kai, I'll definately remember that now WILL YOU LET ME GO?"

No sooner had she told him to leave her be then he did the opposite and dragged her after him into a nearby supply closet. **(A/N: Oh dear, and we ALL know what happens in the supply closets... O_O)****  
**

"Why are you so nervous around me, Mana-chan? Do you like me?" He asked, pressing her body up against a rack with miscellaneous supply closet items arranged on it.

She made a -_- face, back in chibi form once again, and reached a hand back behind her, throwing a roll of toilet paper at his face.

Her shook his head, his long hair flinging around magically, like a dark prince's. Then he leaned in really close to her, his hips brushing against hers, and held onto both her wrists so that she couldn't throw any more toiletries at him.

"Ya know, your resistance is what makes you all the more appealing. Maybe I should kiss you as a reward?"

"What a masochist, you enjoy when I inflict punishment on you?"

He whispered into her ear, his breath hot.

"I'd enjoy for you to punish me with your body now, not just throw things at me."

"Are you a rapist?"

"Probably."

She sweat dropped, her eyes widening.

O_O;

He winked and grinned like a psychopath.

;)

"HEEELLLLLPPPP! I'M BEING RAPED BY OUR HIGH SCHOOL RAPIST! AAAHHHH!"

After that little outburst he was quick to pull her away from the door which she had proceeded to throw herself against and then he brought her against the rack again, and forcibly kissed her. Not that she was enjoying this, in fact she was probably going to issue a restraining order against him when he got his hands off her, but his lips were INCREDIBLY soft, it was like being kissed by someone with freaking marshmallows for lips.

"Gerroffo me!" She half mumbled into those lips, and then she kicked him in the shin and he momentarily cried out and let her lips free. She struggled but he didn't release her hands, so she wiped her mouth on her shoulder as best she could.

"You sicko! I don't like you like that! We're just friends!" She yelled at him, and struggled even more in his tight hold.

"What the hell are you going on about?! I haven't even met you until today!"

"Yes you have you just don't know... UGH! This Gemini Masochist..." She mumbled to herself, shaking her head angrily.

Suddenly he was smiling down at her red, enraged face.

"I'm so turned on by you."

"I'm so put off with you."

When he bent his head down again, she thought he was going to kiss her once more but he surprised her. Swiftly, deftly, one of his hands reached up and pulled her collar back. His lips found an area on her neck and she half gasped, half shrieked as his lips clamped on, his teeth nipped and pulled at the skin, giving her one hell of a love bite. She knew that her skin was a red and irritated mark where he was attacking her with his mouth without her even having to see it. Half annoyed and half turned on by the gesture, she placed her fists to his shoulders, an attempt to push him off that failed because she couldn't make herself move, and he was holding onto her too tightly to let her anyway.

In the middle of him still sucking at her neck like that, the door swung backwards, opening and letting in the faint light from the hallway.

A tall figure stood there as the two people in the supply closet turned their heads to look, and a pair of glasses gleamed malevolently on the person's features as they stepped forward. When they took that step into the closet, Akari could see them more clearly and she recognized the Kanou boy that sat behind her in her class.

"Kanou-san!" She exclaimed, and then, before either boys could do anything, she turned on Kai as she realized he'd suddenly let her go. And then she slapped his face so hard, he could probably see stars.

"I should have done that to the guy who assaults me at home, too... Felt good..." She mumbled, and she thought it went unheard but Kanou looked at her, the sheen in his glasses still there so she couldn't see his expression, but she could imagine that he was a bit shocked.

No one yet knew about her living conditions with the Igarashi's. And she would keep it that way.

"Oh, nothing, it's nothing, Kanou." She told him, and then she reached up and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him with her out of the supply closet, leaving behind a young man who was whining, his face still smoking slightly from the slap.

"How'd you find us?" She asked the boy she was dragging along with her, pulling him around the corner and up a set of stairs before Kai could come after them.

"Uh... I thought I heard someone yelling..."

They had reached the door to the roof, and she was huffing from the flights of stairs, though he seemed to be perfectly in tact with his breath.

"Well... *huff* thanks for that."

"I didn't really do anything, you did."

She turned around to face him, standing just beside the unopened door. He was so tall, she noticed as she looked up at him, even maybe taller than Igarashi.

"Well I couldn't have done anything without you finding us and distracting him."

His blue eyes were seen behind his glasses now, staring at her neck. He blushed a little bit, and averted his gaze to the side.

"Did he... uh... did he hurt you at all?"

"Just my pride." She laughed, and was surprised when she looked up at him to find him smiling at her. Him, smiling at her? That was new. Normally he avoided her as if one look would poison him.

"You're a strong type of girl... kind of like the President." He stated, his eyes roaming her face. She couldn't quite read the look he was giving her, but he seemed to be calculating something in his head.

"Um. Well I wouldn't say I'm all that much like Misaki, but..." She trailed off, unsure of where this conversation was going.

"Are you really okay?" He suddenly sounded very worried, as if he was second-guessing his earlier statement about her being strong.

"Of course I am. He's just a boy, that Masochistic Gemini..." She grumbled, and Kanou smiled again.

"You sound like the President when she talks about that Usui Takumi. Except they love each other, and you probably hate the guy who sexually harassed you... although, Misaki doesn't hate Usui and he's constantly sexually harassing her..."

"Shh. You're talking too much right now, what's up with that? Forget about whoever I may hate, I thought that _you _hated _me__."_

The boy shook his head at her.

"Do you wanna sit down?" He asked her, and when she thought about it, and then nodded, they both sat down on the top set of stairs.

"I don't hate you. I just don't like girls." He stated for her, looking at his hands lying in his lap.

"You don't like girls." She sounded redundantly amused.

"To better explain- girls are weak, therefore they get scared away easily, therefore you cannot form a healthy relationship with them, be it an intimate relationship or a friendship."

"Well I think that that's a little unfair of you to assume. What brought this way of thinking on?"

He looked up into her eyes. She noticed, not for the first time- he had shamelessly pretty eyes hiding behind those glasses of his.

"I grew up thinking that. I've slowly come to realize that that isn't the correct way of thinking, but after living my life in fear of hurting women it's stuck with me that I should keep away from them. I try to do better..."

Without thinking Akari suddenly reached over and wrapped him up into a hug, her arms pulling around him in a soft, sincere sort of way.

"I don't know why someone would grow up thinking like that, but you don't have to tell me the experiences that might have been painful for you. Just know that you don't have to be afraid of me and we can be good friends, okay?"

She wasn't entirely sure why she hugged him, but she did know that his words had brought out her rare, affectionate side. A boy who was afraid of hurting girls- that was so sweet... maybe a little pathetic, her forthright side of herself told her, but still sweet.

So she held him like that, in the darkened top of the stairs sitting on the steps there, trying to hold onto him until he hugged her back, or at least said something.

Slowly, and very very carefully, his arms raised on their own accord. When she felt warm hands pressing into her back, long arms encircling her as well, she somehow felt a calm, refreshing peace with things. She blushed when she realized just how he had hugged her- his hands had settled themselves down with extreme care, his arms around her holding her as if she was the most fragile object in the world- it was an interesting, adorably cautious sort of embrace, and they stayed like that until the bell rang, signalling that the after school clubs had now started.

Their goodbyes were short and simple after the sweet hug, and she couldn't help but smile as she turned away from him and left to get in the car and drive home.

* * *

When she got there, all she wanted to do was go to her room and take a nap. The day had been rough for her, despite how the end of school had been more on the pleasant side, she was still utterly worn out.

A nap. It was a simple thing to ask for- it truly was. That's _all _she wanted... but god was cruel and sent the devil her way.

"Dear me, you look..." He didn't finish his sentence, but merely stood across from her in the hallway looking her up and down in disapproving glances.

"Shut up Igarashi."

After that unequivocal statement she tried to push past him, but he simply stopped her by placing one hand elegantly on the wall, leaving her no space to get around him.

* * *

"What's that?" Tora asked, leaning in and peering at a mark that was half-hidden behind the collar on her neck. A smirk began to spread across his face when he realized it might be a hickey he'd given to her the night before- except that train of thought left the station as soon as it arrived when he saw the look on her face.

Something wasn't quite right.

"What? Let me go to my room." She avoided his question and his gaze, looking as if she was remembering something. Her face was slowly turning a shade of red as whatever thought she was thinking of traveled through her brain.

"What happened at school today?" He asked, eyes narrowing at her.

"I learned a new equation in my physics class..."

Ah, how cute of her to avoid him. Though she must know by now that nobody could ever avoid Tora Igarashi.

"I'm not talking about what happened in class."

"Then I don't know what else to tell you."

"Akari."

She looked up at him then. His gaze was so serious that it stung, golden and bright. His lips were pressed together and he was just giving her... _that look__. _Yes, he certainly knew the look he was currently giving her. It was the look his father always seemed to be giving him- and he knew it was working on her. It was an unsettling and superlatively stern type of look that could leave a person completely unhinged.

"What is it that you want to know exactly, Tora?" She addressed him with a steady gaze, and that's when he pressed her up against the wall, holding her hands away from herself and pulling down her sweater and the collar of her shirt.

"I want to know what this is, and I also want you to tell me who gave it to you."

She blinked, and when the innocently blank look on her face faded, it gave way to a look of determined protection. Whether the protection was meant for her or the person that did it to her, he didn't quite know.

"I'm entitled to my own privacy, Igara-"

He cut her off with a hand on her mouth. His gaze was still going strong and heavy and completely serious.

"Tell me or I'll find out for myself."

She somehow turned her wrists in his grasp and then she was the one grabbing his wrists in a firm hold. He could have easily gotten out of it and she knew that, that's why she was quick in confronting him.

"Get off already, and keep yourself away from me. I'm not interested in you and I should have never let you take things so far that time... So," She gave him a hard stare, one which he returned with his own mildly shocked features. "_I'm _going to my room. And _you're _going to stop bugging me and go read a book or something. I really don't care."

And then he was watching her retreat down the halls, and she disappeared so swiftly he could barely manage a sound of complaint.

He wanted to be infuriated and yet, he smiled. His mind couldn't come up with one good reason as to why he was enjoying their little fight, her little outburst, but he didn't have time to think about it as he pulled out his phone and dialed a number he had dialed earlier that day.

His voice was secretive and hinted at mischievous when he spoke.

"Kanade, I want you to help me win a prize..."

* * *

**A/N: boobs. haha, you weren't expecting that, were you? My older sister came into my room and yelled that at me and then walked away, so I figured I'd do the same to you guys. **

**Yes, I do come from a verrrry strange and somewhere along the lines of eccentric, family.**

**So I wrote this whole chapter with a head ache and my cat going 'Mrrow mrrow?' at me, trying to get me to play with her. Or feed her. Or just acknowledge her- sheesh, cats always have to have the attention on them, don't they? But my cat's thee most adorable thing that you'll ever set your eyes on (besides red pandas- red pandas are fucking AHHHDORABLE- go google them right now!) so it doesn't matter in the end. **

**I hope that you're enjoying this story, because I'm workin' hard! *holds up determined fist* And I won't stop until my viewers are satisfied!**

**Btw, have you guessed who Tora's new rival is? Some of you may have thought it was the character of Seiji/Kai that I made up, but, YOU'RE WRONG! It's Kanou! :3 I loved his and Akari's fluff moment, didn't you? Seriously, I know some might not find him all that interesting, but is it not adorable that he's so careful with women? It is. It is adorable. Plus, if he were your boyfriend, he could hypnotize people into giving you their chocolate. :) Yes, NOW you want him... don't you? **

**Thank you, thank you very much! You guys totally rock, just like Elvis did back in the 20th century. Reviewing/Following/Favoriting me is recommended if you want to be considered some of my favorite people everr!**

**Bye 'til next chapter~**

**CK :***


	7. Cold Dread

**A/N: I just wanna say I love you guys. **

**Whoa. Excuse me. I'm being overly affectionate at the current moment.**

**PEASANTS! **

**That's better ^_^ woot! go tyranny. I love controlling you all with my sexy, delicious, tempting story! hehehe... :)**

**you know, I'm starting to worry about this double side of myself, but it just won't go away. I guess you guys bring it out in me. You devilish peasants, you. **

* * *

**Chapter Seven. Cold Dread**

"Looking for something?"

Tora looked up from staring at the floor in amusement the next day as he watched his victim, walking into the front hall and going into the next room, cursing, walking out of that room and looking in a closet. She faced him when he spoke, her face flushed from all her strutting about. Ah, his dear new victim. He'd be teasing her and manipulating her to no end, now that he knew what a prize she was to win over.

"How cold do you think it is outside today?" She asked, ignoring his question.

"Very cold, I'd say." He suppressed a devious smile as she began to button up the coat she had on over her uniform.

"Okay. Bye."

She walked past him and out the door. He waited ten seconds, and then she was suddenly inside once again, glaring at his smirking face.

"It's fucking freezing. And you took all of my scarves."

He grinned, and then pulled himself forward from against the wall he was leaning on, standing up straight and addressing her with a level-headed, calm sort of voice.

"I don't have anything of yours. The maids might have gone through your wardrobe and done some reorganizing though."

Her glare tried to penetrate his skull, he found that she looked very concentrated staring at his forehead like that, and then she sighed and grabbed his hand unexpectedly.

He widened his eyes as she pulled him down the hallway, seemingly towards the wing of the mansion that housed his room.

"Oh, where are we going?" He asked, sounding interested, as he was surprised by her sudden reaction.

"To your room. So you can show me where you hid my scarves."

She had been hurrying furiously, and they were to the front door of his room before she could say anything more. He stood back and folded his arms, watching her with a smirk as she tried the handle of the door he always locked when he wasn't in his room.

The aura emanating from her was dark and scary, but he just ignored it and grabbed her hand after she was done fiddling with the door handle, and this time he was the one to drag her down the halls and back to the entry way.

"Come on you have to go to school now or you'll be late. The limo is always warm and I'll have someone come by and drop a blanket off to you or something so you won't be cold in class."

She wrenched her hand from his grasp and walked out the door, mumbling something about a 'stupid arrogant tiger' before she slammed the door shut behind her with great irritation.

Tora just grinned, and went to his room, this time unlocking the door and stepping in only to trip over a small pile of Akari's clothes set just inside. The maids apparently hadn't bothered to put them anywhere.

Ignoring the pile for now, he walked over to his wardrobe and picked out the clothing he would wear today when he arrived at her school to... help warm her up.

It was the least he could do, since she had so unfortunately misplaced a few of her things...

* * *

"Is h-he back t-t-to n-normal?"

Aika looked at her freezing friend with no sympathy in her eyes.

"Why were you stupid enough to not even wear a sweater at least?"

_Because that yellow-eyed devil took all of my sweaters too!_

"You duh-d-d-didn't answer m-m-my question! Is he?" Akari asked, rubbing her hands furiously up and down her chilled arms. Jeez, did the school not have a heating system?! The classroom was almost as cold as it was outside! She could see clouds of her breath in the air!

"Yeah, I don't know if he is. I haven't seen him yet today. Seriously, why the fuck didn't you come prepared? I though you were rich- don't rich bitches have like a whole ten story closet full of warm-weather, fashion-magazine clothing?"

"I'm no bitch!"

"Hey~ Mana-chan!"

She turned on the blonde menace who sat down in front of her.

"SH-SHUT THE H-HELL UP YOU B-BASTARD OR I'LL S-S-SLAP YOU AGAIN!"

"Wow. Way to contradict yourself there, Akari. By the way, no, I don't think that Seiji has changed back to normal yet." Aika said, and put her ear buds in before her friend could turn and yell at her as well.

"Gee Mana-chan, since I _am _a masochist, maybe you should slap me!" He sounded eager.

Suddenly and before she could yell 'You sick rapist!' at Kai, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Kanou sitting behind her with his grey jacket hood settled on top of his head and his glasses glinting under the fluorescent lights.

"Why aren't you wearing anything warm like everyone else?" He asked, sounding a little concerned and as calmly observational as always.

"Because I can't wear my coat since it's 'not uniform' and all of my uniform sweaters are... they disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"I couldn't find them when I woke up this morning."

"Oh. Do you want my jacket?"

Her eyes widened and she shook her head, her cinnamon-auburn hair shaking loosely around her shoulders.

"No, then you'll have to be col- ah!"

"Mana. Chan. Quite ignoring me." Seiji/Kai suddenly pulled back on her collar, yanking her closer to him and away from Kanou.

"Do you want me to get the teacher to send you to the other side of the room again?" She glared at him, trying to turn her neck the right way around.

The boy smirked. "No, _M'am. _Though the idea of punishment excites me, I'd rather be here near you."

"Let go of my collar!"

"Hey, do you want _my _jacket?" He suddenly asked, still not letting go, and she stopped struggling just to try to burn off his face with her glare.

"I don't want anything from you. And I certainly didn't want what you gave me yesterday..." She grumbled, slapping his hand and making him release her collar.

"Take your seats!"

Luckily, the sensei walked into the room and cut Kai off before he could say something perverted and demeaning to her.

"Let's take roll. Hey! HEY! You there, take those ear buds out! This is homeroom, not music class!"

* * *

Lunchtime. YES. She had somehow not frozen to death in the classroom up to now. Akari made a mental note to reward herself later with some more Yatsuhashi.

"Maaaannnnaaaa-chaaaan..."

She fled from the room without acknowledging any of her friends- accidentally plowing over Yukimura as he walked into the classroom smiling and she escaped with a look of terror on her face.

She ran up the halls, the distant call of her name that actually isn't her name following her in the distance. Where to hide, where to hide? She was contemplating running up the stairs to the roof when she felt a hand on her in her hair, pulling her backwards and into another classroom.

The people already inside the classroom just stared at the two new intruders for a moment, and then they all got back to eating and talking once they didn't seem to care who they were. Akari turned her steely-silver gaze on whoever had yanked at her hair, but before she could see them or say anything, something warm was settled around her shoulders.

"You still look cold."

It was a voice she instantly recognized that belonged to a certain sapphire-eyed, glasses-bedecked young man.

"Kanou, I can't wear your jacket." She objected when she realized he was now standing before her with just a long-sleeved white shirt on to cover his upper body, and that a warm grey material was encasing her now instead of him. The heating system was still at an absence in the school, so he must be getting cold even though he's only taken off his hoodie for a few short moments. As if on cue, she saw him shiver slightly, and began to take off the warm offering.

He placed a hand on hers to stop her, still shivering from the freezing air in the room.

"Let's just go get your coat then. You can wear that until you have something else to keep you warm."

"Can I wear my coat?"

"It's lunch, so I would assume the teachers don't care."

Then he turned around, and she followed him out of the classroom, his hoodie still keeping her surprisingly warm despite the fact it wasn't much to stay warm in. Maybe it was the body heat from him that still lingered inside of it, but it was probably the warmest thing she had ever put on.

"Mana-chaaan? Where are you?"

"Shit it's the Masochist." She said, right before grabbing Kanou's sleeve and pulling him around the next corner sharply.

"I don't get why you don't just tell the president he's bugging you."

"I can't do that- he's a friend and he doesn't deserve to get in trouble. Hang on, stay quiet."

The pair pushed both their backs against the wall as the voice got closer.

"Mana... jeez, that girl can really avoid someone when she wants to, huh? Maybe I've been too vindictive with her..." A laughter errupted from the voice, dangerously close by now. "No, that's not it!"

Akari rolled her eyes, and not wanting to be seen she silently moved Kanou with her down the wall, and the hurried outside the doors at the far end of the hall before Seiji/Kai could see them.

Outside it was even more unbearably cold, so Kanou dragged her into the nearby other set of doors just a few steps away, which led into the gymnasium. No one else was in there as he strode with purposeful steps to across the shining floors, and she followed, that is until he turned around to face her abruptly, both of them standing almost to the center of the gym floor.

"I was thinking we should get your coat back in the classroom, but do you think that boy has gone back there now?"

She enjoyed how he was asking her, not telling her what to do.

"Well, you could go and get it and I could stay here."

He almost looked like he was going to laugh, but remained very stoic and calm.

"I don't want people to think I'm stealing your coat." He replied simply, and pulled out his phone, his thumbs racing over it in a swift text before he waited a few moments for a reply. The phone buzzed back shortly thereafter.

" Shouichirou will get it for you, he said." He put his phone back, hidden in his pants pocket.

"Yukimura?" She laughed. "Poor kid, he has to do all the extra jobs, doesn't he?"

"Eh..." Kanou just shrugged, smiling a tiny bit.

A very awkward silence followed.

Kanou took off, cleaned, and put back on his glasses, sweat dropping uncomfortably. o-o;

"So- thanks for letting me borrow your sweatshirt."

"Er- no problem?"

"Do you want it back now? I lasted until lunch in the classroom, I think I can handle it until Yukimura gets here."

"No, it's okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"...It's waaarm..." She pressed, a bit teasingly. She could've sworn she watched him blush a little bit.

"I know, but it's for you to wear right now."

She gave up and sat down on the gym's floor. It was cold against her skirt, but she didn't really care because her body was tired. Kanou waited patiently, standing next to her and staring at the gym's set of double doors.

Thankfully, it didn't take the short, enthusiastic boy long to enter the gym with her coat. And for some reason...

"Uhhh, Yukimura, why are you dressed up like a girl?" Akari asked as she took of Kanou's hoodie and handed it back to him.

The boy sighed deeply, and looked as if he was about to burst into tears.

"Some of the kids in the student council made me again..."

She thought; _again? _

He continued, not noticing her thoughts that showed clearly on her face. "They wanted to take pictures for a poster for the idea for their new fundraiser. But it's a fundraiser the President doesn't support, a maid cafe idea, she was super angry when she found out about it... so I don't even know why they're doing it still!" He sniffed, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. He seemed to remember he had her coat, and then handed it to her quickly, apologizing. "Sorry! Here!"

She patted him on the head like a little kid and accepted her coat from him. "Thank you, Yukimura, I'm very grateful." She smiled at him reassuringly, and he sniffed, smiling back a little bit too, one of the flowers glued to the headband in his hair falling off and floating to the gym floor.

"Come on, let's go get you looking like yourself again." Kanou said, dragging the younger boy from the room. He stopped just shy of the doors, and turned to look back at Akari. "You're good now...?"

"Yeah, I'm all good! Uh, go ahead and... fix Yukimura for me and also everyone else's sake."

Yukimura looked grateful that she wanted him turned back into his usual self, and hadn't commented on him being such a cute girl like everyone else did. And with that last look of gratitude that he shot at her as his taller friend pulled him from the room, they both disappeared, the doors slowly closing shut behind them.

Akari sighed, pulling the collar of her coat up around her neck and then buttoning it up all the way. It wasn't school colors- therefore she could not wear it in class, which was ridiculous- but maybe she could beg with her sensei before lunch ended. Now where would he be- teacher's lounge? But where was that?

"Eh I'll find it." She said to herself, and with a hopeful strut walked from the large gym and back into the hallways.

* * *

Tora stepped out of the car after having his early lunch, appearing at the site of the Seika High campus at the time that he knew that classes would be let out for their regular lunch period. With a warm, stylish sweater that he knew was school-appropriate (much to his dismay) in his hands, he approached the doors and walked inside, appearing important looking despite his choice on the less conspicuous, casual clothes he was wearing for this visit.

Almost as soon as he walked through the front doors and down the first hallway, he thought he caught a glimpse of brown-auburn hair passing around the next corner. He stalked that way, intent on seeing her and of course giving her the sweater, knowing exactly how he was going to play this out, when he heard something that was as annoying to him as a mosquito buzzing in his ear.

"Mana-chan! Where the hell are you?"

But it didn't concern him, because the other male voice wasn't calling out Akari's name but another's, therefore there was to be no competition there. He frowned a little- he had to admit, that was a bit disappointing. His squabbles over Misaki with Usui had always happily amused him.

Suddenly, Tora realized he'd been standing in the middle of the empty hall like an idiot. Shaking his head and passing a hand through his bangs, he began forward again, thinking he was going in the right direction towards the girl he was searching for, and smirked confidently as he caught another glimpse of someone running this way and that, out of breath- yes, that would be her.

He was at the far end of the hall, going by unnoticed because she was so far ahead of him, and he watched as she checked breathlessly over her shoulder before she hurriedly stumbled into a room. He stalked forward, and just then something passed him by- and he stopped walking momentarily to watch in slightly stunned silence as another blonde boy made his way into the room that Akari had just inhabited.

Tora's mouth didn't know whether it should lift up in a competitive smirk or frown downwards in irritation, so he settled on making it a straight line, pressing his lips firmly together as he walked towards the closed door again.

"-YOU MASOCHISTIC GEMINI!"

The yelled words blew Tora's hair back as he opened the door, and he stood there with it opened and him peering inside for a moment, blinking, his eyes widened from the raging words that had come from a fuming Akari in the empty classroom. She appeared to have her attention settled on the other blonde boy who was standing close to her. Smoke rose from the side of the other boy's face as Tora peered at him- Akari must have smacked him.

_If he's a masochist, doesn't she know that slapping and yelling at him will just make him want more? _Tora thought as he waited to be noticed by the door.

However, he went unnoticed as the other boy continued to harass her.

"Aww, Ma-na-chan." The boy said slowly, holding his cheek in his hand. "You know that turns me on~"

"Baka... leave me alone, Seiji. I want to go eat."

"It's Kai. You're doing it again."

"Okay KAI- then LEAVE ME ALOOONE!" She folded her arms and stepped back when he tried to reach out for her.

"I thought we could have lunch together though."

"Sorry, but she's already arranged plans to eat with me today." Tora said wickedly, smirking at the other boy when both of them turned to look right at him.

Akari didn't say anything, and when Tora switched his gaze to look at her, he could see why. She had quickly slammed her face against the teacher's desk next to her, back in chibi form once again with waves of irritation floating above her head as she mumbled incoherently about not getting a break, and something about tigers and masochists, and grumbled about being hungry.

"So," The other boy smiled evilly at Tora. "Just for today, then? How about tomorrow?"

Akari immediately snapped out of it and used her fist to bop the boy hard on the head, which Tora found quite amusing and laughed at openly.

"Tomorrow's Saturday you masochistic rapist!"

Tora stopped laughing at her words, and on cue his eyes narrowed at the other boy.

"What?" He sounded dangerously interested in what she had just said.

Akari sweat dropped. She was quick to shove the other boy aside and grab Tora's hand, which surprised him, though he wouldn't shut up about this.

"What does-"

"We have a lunch date to get to, don't we? Let's go eat."

She pulled him away with her, leaving the classroom and shutting the door, then grabbing him by the collar and muttering to herself as she pulled him along through the halls. Despite her efforts to make him forget about the other boy and her words, Tora had already memorized the face of the bastard that he had assumed had been the one to mark Akari- mark the prize that was hardly his to mark as his own. He growled slightly, a feral sound in the back of his throat that sent chills down Akari's spine as she lead him down the halls and back to the front entrance of the school, stopping just inside the doors.

"Igarashi, what are you doing here?"

He stared down at her, a serious expression still displayed across his face. Quickly, his features changed into that of a slight and forced smile, and he thrust the sweater into her hands.

"I came to bring you that. I'll go ahead and pick you up after school." He replied shortly, turning on his heels to leave.

Though his original plan had been to actually have lunch with her, using the excuse of bringing her something warm to wear to maybe steal her away from school for a while, taunting her and charming her for the rest of the evening, he had now decided to save it for later. The concept of kidnapping her was oh so tempting still, but he shortly realized that it'd be much more fun to irritate her by picking her up in front of all the other students at the end of the school hours. She would most likely hate that, and he liked to see her ferocious side. It was somehow attractive on her, her face turning red in rage, making her silver eyes look brighter on her face, her voice taking on a hauntingly dark, somehow sexy tone- ah, yes, it would be much more worth it to bother her later.

"What? I have my own driver-"

"We have things to discuss."

"And if I refuse?"

Tora turned to face her, smiling when he saw the look of angst scrunching up her features.

"You can't refuse an Igarashi, I'm so sorry to inform you."

"You're not sorry."

"That's right, but you will be if you continue to argue with me."

She looked into his eyes, and their gaze leveled out not for the first time. She opened her mouth as if to object, and he expected her to again, but she simply locked her jaw and then replied simply and flatly.

"Thank you for the sweater."

And she spun around and left him there to watch her with slightly widened eyes, surprised at her sudden acceptance. Was she trying to resist her urge of resistance again in order to keep him uninterested? He assumed that was her little plan.

An eerie smile made its way onto his face as he shook his head and stared after her still. Unfortunately, her plan would fail. She had pulled him in far too deep for his interest to ever be quelled now.

* * *

Akari was pissed off at many people. And her breasts hurt from when Kai had roughly grabbed at them before she yelled at him and pushed him off of her right as Tora found them.

Kai... he was at the top of her list right now. Not Seiji though, because she knew it wasn't him at fault. But since they were the same person (sort of) she was probably mad at Seiji as well.

Tora was the second person to irritate her so much. He'd just waltzed into her school, and someone could have seen him and found out that she lived with him if they had simply talked with him. She hated that thought, because if people knew they lived together, they'd start to assume... ew, no, but she'd NEVER do _that _with _him. _Though everyone would still think that they did.

And, currently, she was mad at her other friend, watching her with a glare as she flirted and laughed with that Ryuunosuke guy. Why did she get to have such a perfectly laid-back and simple life? Not that Akari was normally one to be envious of others, but she was starting to feel a growing yearning for the life that Aika got to enjoy.

Simple. Un-elegant. Slow-paced and easy to live through. That was the kind of life she was missing out on, especially after moving in with the Igarashi's.

She suddenly slammed her chopsticks down hard onto her desk, snapping one in half. Kai, who had been relatively quiet for a short while, looked back at her curiously. She ignored him, and stood up to leave. But that's when the bell rang, and she was forced to sit down and shut up and be a good girl.

"Mana?"

-_-"

"Maaannnaa?"

She pursed her lips and shook her head, it was obvious by her expression that she was irritated.

"Mana-chaaan?"

"Yes, what is it, Kai?"

"You okay there?"

She closed the lid on her lunch and slowly slid it down into her bag, ignoring his words, as her thoughts were elsewhere.

Like on the fact that she'd probably be whisked away by Tora after school, since she had no choice in the matter. What exactly did he want to discuss with her? He was acting stranger than usual... she could somehow sense a slight, but just slight, shift in his persona.

"Mana-chan, answer me or I'll have to punish you~" The boy in front of her smiled at her.

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE A MASOCHIST!"

"WELL I CAN BE A SADIST TOO."

The two glared at each other, him smirking and her gritting her teeth. And then, she let it go just as quickly, sighing and leaning back in her seat as he stared on, perplexed by her sudden uncaring actions.

"I really wish you'd go back to normal, Seiji..."

"I already TOLD you, my name is KAI. Who the hell is Seiji anyway?!"

She just closed her eyes and laughed at him, needing some form of release, and thinking about how funny the situation actually truly was. Funny in a weird, unnatural sort of way. Maybe she could learn to love this side of her friend, if she had to. In a playful sort of manner, she reached forward and ruffled his long blonde hair, laughing again as he looked at her with blank, wide, and unsuspecting eyes.

"You're silly, Kai. Just ignore me when I call you the wrong name, I don't mean to."

He smiled warmly at her, and for a moment, she could've sworn she could see a bit of Seiji in his stare again. But that was certainly ruined when he said;

"Mana-chan, you're hot when you're being affectionate~"

And just like that her sudden sense of warmth towards him was eradicated. This still wasn't Seiji.

"Shut up you sadistic molester."

"I thought I was a masochistic rapist?" He teased.

"You're both..."

"Oh. Well I guess I'll have to live up to both of those standards then, so how about~"

"Just be quiet already, my tolerance level of you has almost reached zero." She cut him off, growling and leaning backwards, thoroughly annoyed.

"Is it because I groped you earlier? Before that guy came and took you away from me?" He pouted.

"Kai, stop being a pervert and turn around. The sensei's giving you a death glare."

"You know, you have kind of small boobs for such a hot girl..."

She leaned forward and pulled the sleeves of her new sweater up, burying her face in the fabric. This was going to go on for a while... was there no end to her torturing?

* * *

Akari had already guessed that there wasn't an end to the torture that life handed her as she exited the school, falling behind everyone else as she caught a glimpse of the sleek limo on the street.

Everyone who saw it was staring at it with wide eyes, and she really hoped that Tora would just stay inside the car and wait for her instead of getting out to greet her. She did not want anyone to see her with him, much less getting into his limo with him!

But her hopes were crushed under the foot of a certain boy as he stepped out from the limo, dressed up in a much more formal outfit that earlier in the day when she saw him. His expression looked unreadable as he stared across the campus, ignoring the teens marveling over him and his limo, and when his eyes came to rest on Akari she saw his mouth spread into a small, polite grin. She continued walking with a sense of wariness surrounding her, easing her way towards him slowly, and then speeding up when a few people commented on her being with him, or something along the lines of that.

She was standing in front of him now, and when she tried to reach past him and get into the car as quickly as possible, he threw out an arm to stop her, grabbing her hand unexpectedly. Bowing like a gentleman, he leaned forward and brought her hand to his lips, kissing it. She stared on with a look of pure shock- it was like he had _completely _transformed into a different character entirely! When he straightened up again and gazed down at her, his smile was simple and kind-looking, his eyes open in a charismatic gaze as he began to speek.

"That sweater I gave you suits you well." He said in a tone she was very unused to hear coming from him.

She blinked, her expression of complete and utter surprise. Who was this princely figure that stood before her? Where had the overbearing, snarky Igarashi disappeared to?

Ah, there it was in him, right then, she barely caught it- that glint that passed over his gaze as he looked her up and down in one swift flicker of those golden eyes. That hunger in them was there, being carefully hidden by his easy-going facade of manners and polite gestures. He was a young man who was certainly good at what he did- faking his way through life.

"Are you trying to make yourself look good in public?" She mumbled to him, watching him smile again down at her.

"Here, allow me." He completely ignored her statement and opened the car door for her, waiting for her to step inside. She looked around the school grounds, seeing all the people staring, and hesitated. If she got in the car, that would be a huge reason for gossip to start evolving.

"If you get in the car instead of making a scene, I'm sure they'll forget about it over the course of this weekend." He was suddenly leaning in closer to her, so that none of the listening ears of the other students could hear.

She got in the car quickly, and he elegantly swooped in after her, taking a seat across from her as the door shut.

* * *

As the car pulled away from the curb, Tora turned his golden eyes fiercely on Akari, his persona instantly changing.

"I honestly do like that sweater on you. It compliments your eyes."

She just stared at him, with an innocent sort of blank look on her face, probably still trying to process his demeanor outside of the car. He just smiled, his eyes glinting sharply at her as she then looked away after realizing she was staring, and brushed a hand over the sweater contemplatively. She looked as if she hadn't realized she was wearing it until just now.

It did compliment her eyes, he was being serious about his compliment. The deep maroon color of the fabric made her silver eyes pop, and her hair looked even more similar to a shade of cinnamon as it settled down around her shoulders for him to admire against the color as well.

She took a moment to look out the window, ignoring the warm designer clothing on her shoulders. "Where are we going?"

"Just for a drive, Akari."

She looked back at him then, catching the mischievous tone in his voice, and he ignored her look and turned to smirk out the window at the frosty day. It hadn't snowed yesterday as he thought it would- but today, it definitely would. In fact, right as he thought that, he found that the sky seemed to open up and snowflakes started to fall like white rain on the streets.

"Igarashi... what exactly do we need to discuss?"

"Just what is necessary for us to talk about. For example, that mark on your neck, will you tell me now who gave it to you?" He asked it nonchalantly while still gazing calmly out the window, and he could see out of the corner of his eye her hand flying up to cover her neck.

"I already told you to stay out of my business..."

His gaze fiercely found hers, locked with hers, a deadly combat of silver and gold. They stayed like that, staring each other down before he leaned forward and brushed his fingers along her shirt, upwards, and then across the still-raw mark on her neck. She sighed at the light contact of his warm fingers, but pulled away immediately after.

"Stop thinking about it. It's nothing."

"It's a love bite. From a lover, perhaps?"

She looked at him, mouth opening, obviously shocked he would think that.

"You're joking."

"Who says I am, Akari? You're not unattractive."

With these words, he leaned back in his seat, placing his arms along the top rim of the seat behind him, and spreading his legs in a relaxed, bored sort of manner. He gazed at her intently.

"You will tell me now who did that to you. Or, I bet I could guess."

She snorted in derision and avoided his gaze, staring out the window again.

"His name is Kai, correct? Or Akimine, Seiji."

That caught her attention. She looked at him, baffled.

"I looked into it." He shrugged slightly. "He has quite the nasty personality disorder, doesn't he?"

And now she was glaring at him. Those silver-blue eyes of hers glinted like dark steel as she hissed;

"Igarashi, leave him alone."

"I wasn't planning to do anything to him. But if he ever touches you like that again I'll kick his ass."

Now she was peering at him with taken aback curiosity.

"Tora, what are you talking about?"

He gazed at her with a bored expression, his mouth a thin, relaxed line.

"What do you mean? I thought I said it clearly enough."

He watched her with great care, trying to catch her response. She was delaying her words, he could tell, and fiddling a lot with her hands in her lap. Could she be nervous about his words? But what had he said that had made her seem so hesitant in her response? He thought he'd simply said it straight.

"Nothing... I just mean... you almost sound as if you actually care what happens to me."

His eyes widened and he stared at her, his mouth opening slightly in mild surprise at her words. He hadn't expected her to say that.

"I don't care." He quickly recovered, turning his face away and staring out the window, resuming his bored, uninterested look. "He just irritates me, and I never do anything without good reason to, so if he touches you then I can finally have a reason kick his ass."

"So you do want him to touch me then?"

"...That's not-"

"Never mind. I understand."

His eyes flicked over to her without him turning his head. She was, close to grinning, he'd think. Though her features were still kept stern, he could see the glint in her eye.

He pulled himself together and thought back to his original plan. His smirk returned to his face and he turned his head towards her, smiling widely when she caught his gaze.

"W-what?!" She asked as the smile stuck there, secretive and alluring.

"You still don't know why you're here with me." His eyes glinted evilly.

"Well why don't you tell me, then?" She sounded very put off with him. It amused him very much to know he was unsettling her.

He was quick to move- leaning forward, rising from his seat and gripping onto the bottom of her own seat, his gaze steadying itself on hers as his mouth opened to form his planned out, arrogant and suggestive response.

Before he could say a word though, his eyes widened in shock/surprise when a faint ringing could be heard. His cell phone- damn it, who was calling him at such a time? Growling, he leaned back away from her, settling himself lazily in his seat and even slouching a little in slight aggravation.

"What?" He growled when he answered the phone.

"Sir, it's your mother."

Tora shot up so suddenly in his seat that his head hit the roof, and he cursed. Akari watched him curiously as he sat at the very edge of his seat now, his back rod-straight and his whole being obviously tensed-up in a terrible sort of anticipation.

"What is it?" He asked, his voice coming out harshly into the receiver. His dread was completely evident in his tone.

His eyes widened and he was unable to control his expression when the voice continued on with the short story, and before it could finish he had already slammed his phone shut and was banging on the screen in the limo, yelling harshly for his driver to turn the damn car around.

* * *

Akari had never seen such a look of fear cross his face until then, in that moment, when he listened intently to the voice on the other end of the phone, and all he could do was just sort of jerk his head, forgetting to reply, flinging the phone down on the ground without a care and practically shattering the divider behind him that separated the driver from themselves as he hit his fists against it and barked his orders.

"Turn around and drive home this instant! Disregard safety- just get the hell back to the house as quickly as possible!" He sounded truly panicked.

Akari wondered what could have possibly caused such a composed young man to react so emotionally. He sounded about on the brink of a mental break down.

"Tora-"

_"Shut up!"_

When he turned around and placed his elbows on his knees, holding his face in his hands and pushing his hair back, Akari stayed quiet and simply watched him. And when he didn't move as the car made a swift U-turn, following his orders and rushing at full speed in the other direction, she was starting to get worried that he might not ever lift his head again.

* * *

**A/N: Guys this chapter showed a weaker side of Tora at the end that wanted to make me cry. I can't believe I wrote that! But it will be all the more easy for Akari to find a way into Tora's heart if his barriers start to crumble a little, you know? Sorry, had to be done. :| **

**TMI time~ Tora Michiyo Itinerary: Well, as you can see so far, this is what has happened with Tora's way of thinking- he got over Misaki, and has a new obsession that at first he didn't understand. Now, after figuring it out (or at least he THINKS he's figured it out) he realizes what a 'prize' Akari is and he is merely interested in pursuing her now. And that's how his train of thought is right now. Don't worry, he'll start to learn he has more romantic feelings mixed in about his 'prize' then he thinks. Remember when that happened with Misaki with him in the Manga? He sort of confessed to her, saying he saw her as a woman and liked her. Well, that's what I'm working up to for him and my OC. Be patient, I like to build things up.**

**R&R if you please! Also, some questions to ponder: what do you think happened with his mother? How do you think it will effect Tora in the after math of all the drama? What do you think he'll do about it?**

**I shall get back to you soon after you contemplate that, my peasants!**

**K well the tyrant is back. Maybe I should name it, since it's a part of me for good... how about Jill?**

**Jill is stupid! What am I doing- I'm acting like one of you peasants!**

**Okay, so not Jill... (no offense to whoever's named Jill) jeez, I'm mean to me. :(**

**CYA NEXT CHAPTER YOU WORTHLESS LOT!**

**I love you! :3**

**no**

**yeah, yes I do :)**

**NO.**

**D': I just want to love my readers... *sniff* **

**Correction: peasants.**

**I don't like you.**

**I am you.**

**t-_-t**

**DON'T FLIP YOURSELF OFF YOU IDIOT WRITER!**

**I'm not, I'm flipping YOU off**

**I_ AM_ YOU!**

**love you guys, buh-bye! :D**

**peasants!**

**D:**

**CK :***


	8. A Troubled Boy, A Tin Man (With A Heart)

**A/N: Key word in this chapter that you probably don't know the meaning of: Anata = basically a name to call someone, that shows intimacy, normally between husband and wife**

**That is all. Just so you don't mistake it for someone's name when I use it ;) though I only use it once. _Disclaimer: I don't own Maid Sama_**

* * *

**Chapter Eight. A Troubled Boy, A Tin Man (With A Heart)**

Tora stared at the cut on his hand. His mother had run off to get some bandages for him, after he had purposefully hurt himself just to get someone's attention on him besides the maids. Though his mother had just assumed someone so young had done it on accident, of course, because five-year-old children weren't supposed to be calculating how to get their parent's attention. They should be happily coloring, laughing in oblivious mirth for no reason. He was coloring though, so he gave himself credit for that. But he had cut himself on the sharp edge of the table because he wasn't oblivious as all other children were. He knew when he was being ignored and he knew a lot of other things as well, too smart for his age. That's why he could never live in ignorance, even as his little self, so young- he _always_ knew too much to be able to live in the bliss of _not_ knowing, as other kids did.

"Kaa-chan, why do the leaves change color?" He asked when the woman was back at his side. He was looking out the window at the fall weather with it's tints of yellow, orange, and red.

"Because they can't be one color all the time, Tora." His mother replied, crouching down with a bandage caught in between her fingers.

"You're not taking me seriously. But I know why already. The pigment-"

The woman laughs sadly, cutting him off before he can rant, watching the young boy with those serious bright golden eyes of his that somehow had a broken look hidden in them.

"I know you know why. You're a smart boy. And it's not that I'm not taking you seriously, because I meant my answer. They can't be the same thing all of the time, just like how people can't live their life without changing every now and then- they can't all stay one color."

"I don't get what you mean, Kaa-chan."

Her gaze was warm and filled with love as she tenderly placed the band-aid over his cut.

"People are always changing, dear. For better or for worse."

The little boy looked back out the window, watching as a single, bright golden leaf broke off of the branch and floated to the ground.

* * *

A young adult version of Tora back in present day was sitting in the hall outside of his mother's door on a bench. He had unwrapped the bandage that Akari had placed over his hand the other day, and was staring at the cut across his skin. He ran a finger over it carefully, remembering when he had cut his hand in the same place when he was younger. He closed his eyes, more memories coming on...

* * *

An boy at the age of eight was cowering outside of his father's office, (cowering without really showing any emotions on his face, that is) wondering what he had been called there for.

He didn't like his father- but he respected him. And that was how it was between the two. Nothing more, nothing less. They were more like business associates than family.

"Tora."

The young boy turned to see his mother standing behind him, her head cocked to the side and her champagne-colored eyes questioning and bright in the dim lighting of the hall.

"What are you doing?"

"I was called into Otosan's office to talk with him."

"But he's in a meeting, dear."

"I know." Tora quietly looked back at the ground.

"...How long have you been waiting?"

"Two hours exactly."

(No wonder the boy had such a high tolerance level and an amount of patience that surpassed most other's)

When he told her that, she pushed through the door of his father's office, not caring about interrupting the meeting.

"Excuse me," He heard her say sternly. "Tora's been waiting out in the hall for you to come get him."

"Sorry Anata, I lost track of time and forgot."

Tora didn't understand when his father spoke like that. When his father spoke to his mother- it was completely different from how he spoke to everyone else, even Tora. It was a tone that expressed a hidden love underneath its superiority.

"You can't do that. You can't forget about your only son like that." His mother sounded angry. Oh dear, an angry Igarashi woman was never a good thing.

He heard his father sigh.

"I've already apologized and I'm in the middle of a meeting with my associates right now. Can we talk about this later?"

Suddenly Tora's mother was strutting out of the room in all her arrogance, and when she closed the door behind her, her light cream-gold eyes found Tora's beams of gold and she smiled warmly.

"Papa's busy, but I'll hold a meeting of my own with you."

She settled a hand on his shoulder and led him down the dimmed halls.

"You're getting taller, you know?" She remarked as she looked down at him.

He nodded. He knew he was growing fast- only eight but already up to his 6 ft mother's elbow. Not having inherited her tall, lanky frame, though, he harbored the same build as his father- still tall, since it was in both sides of his genetics- but not frail or spindle-legged. He, instead, was already obtaining toned muscle in his chest and arms, his long legs keeping him strong on his feet and not fluttery and light like his mother.

"Can I tell you a secret, Tora?"

They were in front of a set of stairs when she stopped walking and crouched down low, looking up at him from where she bent down.

"Hai, Okaasan."

She touched a hand to his cheek lightly, her smile a happy one, her gaze a gentle one.

"I love you."

* * *

An eleven-year-old was crying in the garden around to the side of his large mansion, the flowers surrounding him the same golden color as his eyes, and it was a beautiful spring day. He was crying because he knew too much about life, about situations. His mother was very sick, and he was powerless to do anything about it. He hadn't seen her in a week- and not one comforting word was said to him during that amount of time.

So this was what pain felt like. True, real pain. Not the physical kind, but the heart-ache kind.

"Tora."

The voice that sang him to sleep when he was just tiny brought him out of his depressing thoughts. He turned his head to glance over his shoulder, and when he actually saw that it was her, he was quick to wipe the tears from his eyes and straighten up, smoothing a hand over his suit like his father always did to look important.

"Hello, Okaasan. Feeling better yet?" He was trying to sound authoritative, responsible, but his young, boyish voice was letting loose a tremor of worry that he would work over the years to make disappear when he needed it to. He had already learned how to stop crying on cue, after all, so he could eventually make sure to control his voice as well. He gave her his false smile- the one he'd perfected growing up to hide his real features, but she saw right through it.

"Dear, why are you out here? The party is inside. Father wanted to introduce you to some boys your age."

_Yeah, but just for his benefit so I can make friends with them and our family can be on good terms with their family..._

Instead of voicing his displeasure, he smiled even more.

"Of course, Okaasan."

"It's alright, you can tell me what the matter is. I can assure you that you don't have a thing to worry about, Tora-kun." She said with a smile, but he could tell she looked not like herself. He could see it in her eyes, in the way she stood. And also, she never added the 'kun' to the end of his name like a few of the other parents did with their children, unless she was trying to act like everything was okay when it really was the opposite.

She was trying to give him a false sense of security that he would never develop or accept.

But he just smiled, struggling in controlling his features. Soon, he would perfect that. Perfect it so much so, that no one will be able to read into him. Not even his mother- so she doesn't have to waste her time worrying about him.

"Tora... were you crying?"

But he would never understand why, she always knew. She always would know. No matter how good of an actor he was, she was his mother. She carried him inside of her all those months, she brought him into the world, and she cared for him whenever she had any ounce of time to, she really tried to work around her schedule as an Igarashi woman, just for him.

Her son.

"I wasn't crying." He said, sounding both reassuring and defiant.

Her eyes looked at him in sad concentration. He knew she knew that he was lying and they both knew that he wouldn't admit to it.

"Hai, alright then. But just so you know, crying isn't a bad thing."

His wide, kid eyes looked at her, shocked. His mother sighed and placed a fragile hand on the top of his head, looking down at him with a knowledgeable light in her eyes.

"It's a very brave thing, to show weakness, and it's okay to feel bad about things every now and then. Trust me on this fact, Tora."

He only stared. She was saying things that went completely against what he'd taught himself after watching his father throughout the years.

"A small child who can cry openly and release his emotions..." She bent down to him slightly- though he was tall for an eleven-year-old, she was still tallest and had to bend on her knees, her gaze staring with his. She reached up with a finger and wiped the place where his tears had dried on his cheeks. "Is considered much braver than any strong man who holds his emotions in. It is brave to cry, Tora. And it is okay to feel bad. Some of the best men cry behind closed doors, but even greater men than that face their fears and accept their tears openly. You should be one of the greater men."

He had shoved her hand away politely after that, scoffing and smirking, his young hands smoothing carefully back over his suit and fixing his hair.

"Crying," He said, in a matter-of-fact tone. "Is useless. Sadness is a useless emotion that only succeeds in making you appear weak to people."

He watched in confusion as his mother shook her head.

"But you cannot have happiness, without sadness."

He opened his mouth to object, but closed it as he thought over her words. She stood up as he was contemplating, and took his smaller hand in her larger, frailer one.

"Come on, let's go back inside."

"But Okaasan."

She turned her face down to him.

"You don't have to shed tears in order to be able to smile."

"But do you want to smile without any feeling behind it for your whole life then, Tora?"

* * *

_People are always changing, for better or for worse..._

_I love you..._

_It's a very brave thing, to show weakness... It is brave to cry... great men face their fears... accept their tears..._

Tora dropped his head in his hands, his hair covering his face, his cut still hurting as if it were a fresh wound.

And he cried.

For the first time in seven years. He accepted his tears. He faced his fears. He showed weakness.

He cried.

* * *

Akari had gotten out of the shower a short while ago, and was just finishing braiding her hair into two identical, cinnamon-colored pigtails. She walked to her closet, tried to find something plain and simple, and found a light blue dress to wear. She put that on, the silky fabric hugging her softly, the sleeves cut short at her shoulders in a nice, refreshing way- because the heating in the household was always on full blast since it was snowing now outside, she needed some release from the heat and so she was dressing as if for summer weather.

When she was done getting dressed she left her room and hurried up and down corridors, trying as best she could to find the wing of the house that held the house's mistress.

When she and Tora had finally arrived back at the mansion, Tora had been in an absolute frenzy, pushing maids over and disregarding everyone, with only one thought seeming to run through his mind: his mother.

She had watched from the sidelines, after following him quietly and not knowing what was going on, until he reached that one large door and reached out to open it... But when he had walked inside, she heard arguing after it was shut in her face, and then Tora left the room just as quickly as he had entered it. He had immediately sat down on the bench just outside the door, simply staring forward, at the wall across from him, with no expression.

Pretty soon after that, a taller version of Tora walked out of the room, with darker hair and even fiercer eyes.

That was only the second time she had met Tora's father, and he still unsettled her.

He had told them both to relax for now, that we were not allowed to visit until we were told otherwise, and that the only ones currently allowed in the room with Mrs. Igarashi was himself and the doctors that had arrived. Tora had stubbornly refused to say or do anything- he just sat there on his bench, alone, looking like a statue of himself, and being the quietest she had ever seen him. Meanwhile, Mr. Igarashi's gaze had turned to her, and she was about to say something when she saw it- that faint, veerrrry faint, glimmer behind his extremely stern gaze- a glimmer of unconditional love, worry, deep sadness. He wasn't all bad, Mrs. Igarashi had told her correctly on that, she figured after seeing the deep feelings he held for his wife, and Akari didn't want to upset the poor man anymore.

That was how she ended up, after respectfully bowing and leaving for her room, taking one of the longest showers of her life. She had simply stood underneath the water for most of it, doing nothing, just standing, trying to think.

But all she really could think was how Tora was being affected by this. She never thought he could react in such a way to anything, even if it's family-related. She never really truly, knew that he cared about much of anything.

She knew he was fake.

And she knew there was something hiding in him. A real person, a good man, _possibly_.

But she had never thought she'd get to see him crying.

"Er-" She stopped herself after finally finding the right hallway. She just stood there, under the dim lights, watching him on that bench, his shoulders heaving heavily, his bent figure looking utterly destroyed. Quiet- so quiet that they were almost inaudible- sounds came out of his mouth. He was sobbing very carefully, making sure to stay near to silent, and if she didn't know for a fact that she wasn't dreaming she would have that this was some sort of strange, unreal occurrence that she'd imagined in her head.

Except she never would have been able to even imagine him crying.

She immediately turned to go, soundlessly inching back down the hall so as not to disturb him in this weak time of his, but she gasped when she felt something suddenly gripping onto the edge of her dress. When she turned her head around, she was shocked to see him standing- she didn't think he'd be able to stand- behind her and he was looking so far down that his hair completely covered his face. He was reaching out one of his arms, his grip on her dress didn't release itself, it didn't even loosen up.

"Stay." Was all he said. His tone was monotonous and lacked any emotion. You never could have guessed he was just crying a split second before.

And without her consent, he pulled her down onto the bench next to him.

His knees were spread apart and he was leaning forward with his elbows resting on them and his hands clasped, his head pointed down slightly so she could only glimpse half of his expression. She sat politely and stock-still next to him, her hands lying unfolded and useless in her lap, one foot crossed over the other. They stayed like that for quite a while- she'd have to guess it was an hour before he spoke up again.

"I'm unfeeling and some have said heartless." He stated flatly, and made not one move but stayed as he was in his seat, his posture unnaturally stiff.

She didn't even have to think over an answer. She just talked.

"You're not heartless, but sometimes you act like you have less of a heart than you really do have." She tried to catch his attention then, placing her face nearer to his. "And you really do have a big heart. Even if others don't see it, even if you can't see it, it's still there. Your big fat heart full of emotions- and it's kind of the culprit behind everything you've felt so far, or not felt. But it's still a good heart. So no, you're not heartless. And that's not a real statement it's fake."

He ignored her and started talking rapidly, fiercely.

"I acknowledge that I am hurtful- and yet I don't really care either way, if I'm nice or not. I'm hollowed out. I really don't have a heart, and don't say otherwise." He was glaring at the floor now. "I'm a fucking bastard and you've thought that too. Don't pretend you never hated me."

"Tora." She made her voice extremely stern but he didn't even flinch. He was probably used to people talking that way to him, and though normally he would smirk in return, she still couldn't see his face too clearly, and it worried her that he was acting so... rigid. "I _will_ say otherwise. You aren't hollow, nobody is. And I've never hated you... but I did think of you as a bastard." She slowly admitted, and he grunted slightly. "But, regardless of what I've thought, or what anyone else has said, you obviously just proved you do feel things- you aren't unfeeling- that you have a heart. Because you were crying."

Slowly, he looked over at her, his golden eyes almost in a liquid state, as if melted slightly by his earlier tears.

"That was the first time I've cried in seven years. If I'm not heartless right now, then at least I have been for that long."

* * *

Tora shifted slightly, leaning back and resting both his arms limply on his thighs. The cut on his hand was still stinging and that was probably the only thing keeping him awake- he was exhausted and he felt... well now he just felt blank. Emptied out. Like he had said- hollow. You could probably bang on his chest and hear the sound echo inside of him. This is why he hated emotions- because it's easy to lose yourself in your feelings. That's why lying is easier.

Akari was still staring at him, now that he had let her see his face, and he didn't want to see whatever look she was giving him, be it sympathy or anger or agreement with his words. He just didn't want to see, or talk, or hear. He was thoroughly through with feeling for the next seven years to come. And maybe then, after so long, he'd cry again. Maybe.

"What-" He started to get out as he felt something warm against his own sweaty skin. He looked down, and caught a sight that made him have to stare for a while until he fully understood it.

Her hand, in his own. Her fingers, wrapped carefully around the edges of his hand. Her soft touch, against his own skin. What...

"My mom used to say that when you feel like you can't handle something anymore, that's when you should hold onto it all the more tightly."

He stared at their hands, feeling her gaze there too. He wondered, for a moment, if both of them were staring like that at the same time for too long, that their hands would begin to burn away at the edges, like some sort of still photograph set aflame.

"Tora, you don't have to talk anymore. But just listen to me about this. I've been being pushed around by you for almost a full week now, and yet I've been able to handle it. I can still handle it. So I'm not the one who needs to hold onto you right now like this. I'm doing this because it's what you need."

"What I need is..." He looked up at her, and she still stared at their hands, as if afraid that if she looked away, she'd accidentally forget what she was doing and let go.

"To hold on. Hold onto anything you can, and for now, since I'm here, hold onto me." She looked up as she spoke.

Her gaze met his. They stared and stared and stared at each other. Tora felt something strange inside of him, some sort of strained feeling that was having trouble being suppressed but at the same time had been held in for too long to be let go.

Not really aware of what he was doing, his hand gripped hers tighter in his, squeezing for reassurance that her words were really true, as he was starting to think that they were.

* * *

Akari woke up and opened her eyes to see the dim, twinkling lights... that she thought were placed in the hallways not her room? She was confused for a moment...

And then she realized the warmth beside her, the bangs, which weren't her own, that were slightly covering and tickling her face, and she turned her eyes upward to see a napping Tora above her, her head resting just below his shoulder in the crook of his arm, and his head dipped low over hers, nodding slightly when she moved.

She suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment overcome her senses, and she went red. Since when had they fallen asleep on the bench together? She didn't recall when she herself had drifted off... and she had fallen asleep on him! That was shameful. He probably felt uncomfortable as well about this...

She started to inch her body away, but was pulled back harshly with a tug at her hand. Looking in his lap, she realized their hands were still gently but firmly clasped together- his thumb grazing over her knuckles as he murmured to her in a sleepy tone;

"Don't."

He didn't open his eyes or anything, just made that one gesture, and his thumb didn't stop rubbing across the skin of her hand until she settled backwards and re-situated herself in the position she had been napping in against him. He was in a half-asleep, half-awake state, and she didn't know if she should tell him to wake up or simply go back to sleep herself.

"Igarashi-"

"Just sleep."

She looked up as his mouth moved in another quiet murmur, but the rest of his face remained relaxed as if in sleep. Sighing, she got comfortable and sniffed her nose into his shirt- he smelled like himself- that arrogant yet calming scent of aftershave and the foreign smell of his skin. She didn't know how to describe it- it was just the golden-eyed tiger's scent.

"You're a shameful opportunist even in sleep, Tora Igarashi." She said, shutting her eyes.

His chest moved up and down beneath her- a sign that he was actually more awake then she thought and was now laughing at her statement.

"Don't tempt me anymore, or I won't be able to help myself."

She froze when she felt his lips at her ear, his teeth biting down lightly on her cartilage, and then slightly harder as if to pierce it.

"Lecherous-

"Tiger?" He finished for her, moving his lips down to her shoulder and grazing his teeth lightly across her skin.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, his head fell against her shoulder, the heavy weight of it simply leaning there. She tried poking him to get off, but he was lightly snoring all of a sudden, his face completely slack.

"He really was half-asleep..." She mumbled, and let him rest his head on her shoulder as he slept, she herself letting her head fall on top of his head, her face nuzzling into his coarse hair- and that was how they slept as they waited for something to happen- to be given news- to be allowed into the room they were cuddling just outside the door of.

Unknown to Akari, not only was this night the first time he had cried in seven years, but this would be the first time ever that Tora had slept with a girl- in the literal sense.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys... this chapter is really personal for me because I actually took some of the lines from intimate text messages that I've had with a guy I know who's a lot like Tora, and used them in the character's dialogue.**

**So part of the what the characters are saying to each other are based off of real events and words that have been spoken between me and someone dear to me, when he was in a broken place (just like Tora is in the chapter) and I was there to be his rock ****when he needed more than anything someone to talk to (just like Akari is there for Tora in the chapter)**

**So, basically, I put a sliver of my own personal life into this chapter. So I hope it touches your heart, because some of the words said by the characters are things real-life people actually said to each other. Me and my... someone I care very very deeply for. My... friend. (it's complicated- he's complicated-I'm complicated-we're both complicated) _ Yeah, I know. Sounds complicated.**

**Anywhoza, on a different note, I snuck my computer away from my mom when she took it from me tonight and said I need something weird called 'sleep'. What is this 'sleep'? Is it something normal people do at night? Hmm. Interesting. I know it's the thing that Akari and Tora were doing together in this chapter, but... I don't understand? ;)**

**Anyway, I'm like a freaking ninja cuz I snuck through the shadows of the house- while my mother was still awake- and found where she hid my lap top, and did all these sneaky moves and such and yeah so now I got to finish this chapter! Yaaay! I feel so accomplished ^.^**

**R&R and I'll update more soon! sent me critique and requests if you want something to happen and I just might make it happen for you.**

**Tah-tah, my small peasants! **

**CK *: **

**Ohmagush, the kiss face is BACKWARDS this time! Look at it!**

**normally it goes like dis :* (but I did it backwards this time! heh)**


	9. Lockdown

**A/N: Awww dear readers/peasants, I'm blushing! I love to receive your reviews and support for the story, you guys are da best. Thee best.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maid Sama!/Kaicho wa Maid-sama! or any of the characters belonging to it.  
**

_**Warning==tread with caution===possible smut, just a tiny ounce of it====captain crunch cereal=====yum=====that has nothing to do with the smut just so you know======I just really like captain crunch===============p=====E===A====S===A=====N==T====S===!====**_

* * *

**Chapter Nine. Lockdown**

Tora sat in his bedroom on his fancy sofa, surrounded by his elegant belongings, and breathing in air that was contaminated by other rich and proud, arrogant people that inhabited the house all these years along with himself.

As he sat there, having come to his room after temporarily giving up on stalking outside of his mother's door, he thought;

_If I'm not allowed to see her until she's feeling better, then all I can do is wait patiently and try to get a grip, get a hold of myself. Pull myself together... a task that's normally so completely and utterly simple for me. When did it get like this though? Harder... life isn't as care free as I usually find it, lies don't come as easily, a calm exterior isn't as easy to emit as it should be normally for me... the hell is this?!_

His fist, without his own knowledge, had come down hard on the coffee table in front of him, and a shock of pain shot it's way up his arm and throughout his nerves. He didn't care.

He honestly _didn't_ care, though.

Presently, he couldn't give a damn about himself, or at least he didn't bother as much about himself as he usually did. In fact...

He actually loathed everything about himself at the given moment.

"Weak... I've become disturbingly weak..." Tora said, pulling his throbbing knuckles into his other hand.

No, it wasn't he who could be weak just so easily all on his own. The current _situation _had turned him weak.

"And she saw me... and I let her..."

He shook his head, then stopped, staring down at his feet that were planted firmly into the plush carpet. He thought... he just sat and thought, thinking of no one thing in particular, his mind was simply doing something it was quite accustomed to doing- taking the initiative, pulling itself back together, thinking of ways to make this whole thing just blow over easily so he could then become a tin man once more, undeterred like he normally was.

With a breath that came easily for the first time in the last 24 or more hours, he stood up.

* * *

Silver-blue eyes snapped open and the body belonging to them sat up with an unnatural suddenness.

"What..." Akari whispered, looking around at her very own room, staring down at her lap, which was in the bed with the covers pressed lightly over it; and then she held her head in one hand to think for a moment.

All she could remember, actually the last thing to remember, was when Tora had fallen back asleep beside her on that bench, and she then fell asleep again with him as well...

But how had she gotten back into her bed now? She wasn't one to sleepwalk. Plus, Tora had been grasping her hand so tightly even in sleep that she doubted she could've made a single move to get away.

Then...

_He brought me to my room himself._

An abrupt vision of Tora carrying her sleeping figure gently in his arms flew across her mind and she pushed it back by standing up from the bed and steadying herself. That was highly unlikely. But he had been acting a tad out of character lately... oh, and _especially_ last night... what she saw, and when he spoke to her, what they had talked about, his actions, the way his eyes looked into hers...

"WHY THE HELL AM I BLUSHING!" She found herself yelling and shaking her head again after realizing the blush crossing over her face in bright pink-red as she looked in the mirror in her bathroom.

She proceeded to wash her face, take out the two still-damp braids she had slept in, and let her hair fluff about in slight waves just past her shoulders. It was growing longer if it was like that, past her shoulders a bit more now...

_Yes, think of more practical things._

She gazed at her reflection a bit admiringly. Though she wasn't one to brag or to gloat and also wasn't all that selfish, she did happen to be one of the few young women in the world who did not get insecure. She found her face to be appealing, though maybe a bit too childish to be taken seriously. Maybe that was why people often tried to get away with things, and attempt to manipulate her? Ah well, aside from that, she was comfortable with how she looked, even with the lack of makeup on her face.

Wait... had she looked this way last night? With Tora? Damn it, she had nothing on?! Her face, that is. What had he thought? Oh god, maybe she was a little insecure about her looks-

"UGH! I don't care about him, or what he thinks of me, why can't I have an intelligent thought process this morning?"

She left the bathroom and changed out of her wrinkled blue dress, and into some comfortable jeans and a t-shirt that was simple and black. No need to get dressed up, correct?

Akari listened to the sound of her phone buzzing on her work desk in the corner, but ignored it as she became lost in thought and leaned back against the door that led into the closet. Tora had acted so... broken, then. Why hadn't he ever react to anything so emotionally powerfully until now? It must be hard, holding it all in, years and years of pain or other emotions, how had he done it? He should have had more freak out moments than simply last night. She felt... sorry for him. No, that wasn't it- how could she possibly feel sorry for him? No, it wasn't pity. It was a sense of understanding, an equal, mutual feeling that she shared with him. She knew damn well what emotions were like, and when they boiled over the surface, how crazy one could act. In her family... coming from her family... yes, she understood...

For a moment, she pictured his perfect face, and wondered: Is he better now? From last night? Did he 'sober up'? Is he changed back to normal?

Akari felt her entire brain had been invaded. Invaded by that boy, if only for right now. Her voice, instead of coming out angry and put up with the situation, sounded saddened, quiet, it was an exhausted breath, a soft sigh that was close to some sort of plead, an unsure whimper, when she said;

"That... damn tiger..."

* * *

Tora sat in the library, in a chair facing the large set of windows that showed him a clear view of the front drive. When he looked out at the day, the white of the still, fallen snow across the lot caused him to blink dramatically.

Gold on white, molten golden fire staring to try to melt away the cold, blank slate of the snow.

He continued to ponder, staring out the window, his eyes fluttering at the brightness caused by the sunlight bouncing off of the sparkling still crystals. Though- he didn't see the white of the day when he looked out- instead, for him, he looked out to the snow and he saw ice, silver and blue connected to make a freezing pair of ice-shaded eyes that were, somehow, warm to him...

* * *

_I don't get u, y r u hiding something from me & Seiji? Don't lie, I know u r._

_Also, hey, wth is up with u & that Igarashi bachelor jack ass?_

_Another thing, you've always been so mysterious with us, & we r ur friends! Time 4 an explanation._

_Hey, sorry about Aika. I saw the texts she sent you, she was bragging about showing the 'initiative' that I always tell her she severely lacks. I told her that she was just being cruel... Anyway, well she IS pissed and so she forgot to tell you where to meet us so we can talk. Can you get a ride to the coffee and sandwich shop on the street just past the school?_

Akari stared at each text message in turn- the four written in annoying text-slang from Aika and the one written normally from Seiji. A massive weight of guilt dropped on top of her and she almost dropped her phone.

"Dammit."

* * *

She had no choice but to grab a sweater, acquire a ride, and drive over to meet her friends. No choice, because Aika had texted her a fifth time saying that if Akari didn't come meet them, they'd go to find her. Which didn't really worry her... until Seiji texted her ten minutes later saying that they were on their way to the Igarashi mansion, since the last person Akari was seen with was Tora. That, was when she texted both of them saying she was halfway there already.

"Look! There's the bitch!"

Akari rolled her eyes as she walked into the shop and saw her two friends sitting at a circular table right in front of the display window.

"Always nice to know what you think of me, Aika." She said, taking the third empty seat that was settled in between the two of them.

She couldn't help casting an uneasy glance at Seiji. Oh, he looked normal alright- his hair was back up in it's little ponytail, not a blonde strand out of place, and his eyes were less murky and their normal brightened shade of blue-green. His clothes looked the way they should- his jacket was zipped up nicely over a plain t-shirt, his pants were secured to his hips with a belt, and his hands, instead of reaching under table and across her thigh as she expected when she sat down, stayed lazily in his lap, holding his small cellular device carelessly.

"It's really good to see you, Seiji."

"You, too, Akari-san."

"Just call her Akari. I do. And it's not like she cares." Aika sounded irritated by the small talk.

"So, why am I here?" Akari knew better than to try to sound innocent, but she was hoping they'd fall for it.

They didn't.

"Are you really gonna pull that shit? You idiot! I'm furious with you- even more so now!" Aika swept her arm in a long motion for emphasis, and nearly knocked her drink off the table.

"You want the truth?"

"Uh, YEAH."

She glanced at Seiji. He smiled kindly.

"The truth is good with me."

Akari sighed. Should she ease them into it? No, then a certain music-obsessed girl might get impatient... well, guess she was taking the blunt approach.

"I live with the Igarashis."

"..."

"Guys?"

"..."

"You have to say something. Either of you will do."

Aika stood up, her curls of black bouncing over her shoulder as she shook her head carefully. Akari looked to Seiji- he had some sort of staring contest going on with the surface of the table.

"HA!"

Both Seiji and Akari's attention were suddenly drawn to the girl standing up from her seat. The caramel-chocolate of Aika's gaze was now a deep, darkened sort of brown as she stared seriously, smirking at Akari.

"You really are a rich bitch! Living with _that _sort of family!"

"That's her way of saying she wants you to take her to see the mansion." Seiji said plainly. He had obviously gotten over the shock as soon as Aika had shouted out.

"But, that's not a good-"

"Shut up, rich kid, I wanna see how you live and stuff."

Akari found herself being dragged from the shop and back into the cold day. Aika, taking charge, tapped on the window of the limo parked outside and it rolled down accordingly.

"Take the three of us to the Igarashi residence, will ya? My friend Miss Michiyo here wants to show us around the place."

Before Akari knew what was happening, she was stuffed in the back of the limo with Seiji on her right side and Aika sitting across from them, both of her classmates were looking around at the interior of the car admiringly. The engine started. The limo was driving away now...

"Are you some sort of witch? Sent from hell to punish me?" Akari mumbled meekly, leaning back in her seat while Seiji laughed and patted her arm reassuringly.

Aika shot the two other passengers a look.

"No! I'm just curious and you owe us one anyhow!"

"Yup. I was right."

"What's that? I can't hear you~!" Aika suddenly had her ear buds shoved deep into her ears, her Ipod whipped out like some sort of deadly weapon in her hands.

"I'm sorry that she's so misbehaved. I forgot to feed her this morning, you see, and the doctor said-"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH SEIJI! BAKA!"

The rest of the ride, Seiji and Akari couldn't stop their giggling as Aika shot dirty looks and bad language at them after every pleasantry they made about the temperamental music-lover.

* * *

Tora had dozed off momentarily without even realizing it. When he woke up, he found himself staring back out the window at the frozen day, and the remains of his dreamless nap were starting to form into a memory from last night as his mind reawakened itself...

'He had awoken with a start that night- shocking himself out of a silly dream about that one Western movie he'd seen forever ago, The Wizard of Oz; and in his dream he had been the tin man and Akari had been Dorothy and his mother had been that old woman, what was her name, Auntie Em? Emilia, Emily?

But all thoughts of sick aunts, or mothers, and strange lands, left him as he came to the realization: He was actually _sleeping beside a woman._

The key word there would be BESIDE. Not _with_, not _on top of_, not _underneath_. But-

"Beside?" He accidentally spoke aloud, moving his head from where it sat on the girl's shoulder. Tora's gold gaze watched on in mild curiosity as the girl sleeping beside him shifted and mumbled unintelligibly, her lips moving in a gentle, soft way as he watched them, and then they ceased speaking and she went back to taking deep, lazy breaths, her head now leaning against his arm.

_What... happened? I don't remember falling asleep like this... I don't even remember talking to her- wait, yes, I had her come sit down with me... and we talked... but I never let her sleep next to me like this! I would never do that! So why is she so comfortably leaning against me like it's simply nothing?_

"Mmmm..."

Tora's gaze fell upon the top of her head. He leaned forward a little bit so that he could see her face...

How... interesting. She looked so peaceful like this. It was like her face was completely set apart from all of her thoughts, and she was just relaxing, breathing, sleeping... she looked almost happy, as if she felt safe lying against him in this way. He almost, wanted it to stay like this.

But that would be weird of him to do. It's even strange for him to think it. Who was this girl, anyway? She was just a girl. Just any other girl- wait no, she was a prize.

_A prize to be won by me myself, and only me, remember? And I still haven't won it..._

Without hesitation he took hold of the perfectly opportune situation that was displayed before him. He inched his way out of her reach, standing up, glad she was something of a deep sleeper, and then he turned to hunch over her and picked her up, holding her careful in his arms.

He proceeded to head to his room, but at the last minute turned back and went the opposite way. Her room was closer, he thought.

When the pair entered her darkened room, he realized only then how late it must be. Walking to the bed he set her down and then proceeded to close the curtains together on both windows. When he turned back to the bed, he noticed that the sleeping girl had shifted, and her dress' sleeves were dangerously close to slipping full well off of her shoulders. He grinned, forgetting everything else but his want, his ego, and his lecherous way of going about things as he began to approach her in the dark...

A few minutes later on, Tora walked out of the girl's bedroom buttoning his shirt back up, and walked off. He had _thought_ he was going to surprise her and take advantage of the situation. And as he walked soundlessly down the halls to his room, he had no logical answer as to why he _hadn't_. All he'd ended up doing was tucking her into bed!'

Tora's bright gold eyes pushed past the haze in his brain that was caused by the sudden memory and saw the movement in the white emptiness outside. He stood up, walking closer to the window, and caught a glimpse of the three teens just stepping out from one of the limousines. Who...

His eyes widened slightly when he spied a young man, the one from before- at the school- hooking an arm around an unsuspecting Akari's waist and pulling her flush against him. The way he was leaning his back against the limo so casually, the way he let his hands trail down Akari's back so mindlessly set something off in Tora's brain, and the last sound that was heard in the library was the sound of the door slamming abruptly shut behind him.

* * *

"What's with this weird ponytail?" The blonde boy suddenly shook his head a little, noticing the thing bobbing on his head with a strange look on his face.

"What the hell set him off this time?!" Akari asked frantically, pulling back from Kai as he raced his hands up and down her back, forgetting about the hairdo and gazing at her in a deeply suggestive manner.

"I dunno." Aika sounded uninterested as she gazed around the estate. "Wow, the front entrance is a bit grand, huh?"

"All of it's grand, it's a mansion- HEY!" Akari absolutely had the nerve to slap Kai in the face as his hands reached her butt, slipping into the back pockets of her jeans.

The boy let her go with an unhappy snarl, and for the first time he seemed to realize where he was.

"Whoa, were are we?" His gaze suddenly lit up in hope. "A supermodel's house?!"

He promptly received another slap from Akari.

_Perverted Gemini..._

"Baka, no, it's Akar-"

"We came here to find a friend of mine." Akari lied over the top of her friend, sending Aika a furious look of 'don't you dare let this pervert know where I sleep at night'.

Aika went silent and Kai ignored their questionable behavior. He was much too busy gazing around at the white snow attractively cascading across the massive landscape.

"It seems kinda TOO big. Almost..." Aika started to say.

"Lonely." Akari finished. She had always thought the same thing about her own mansion, back with her father.

Her father... for a moment, she shuddered. She pulled her sweater tighter around herself, realizing just how cold it was outside, and then she came to the sudden realization that the sweater she was wearing was the one Tora had given her. She wondered, if not for a moment, if he would be okay with visitors...

"Come on airhead, show us around!" Aika grabbed Akari's hand and Kai followed behind them obediently, though Akari was pretty sure he was just staring at their butts as they walked in front of him. The thought disturbed her, so she pointed in a random direction and told Aika there was something interesting there, and when the girl rushed ahead of them Akari fell back into step with her personality-disordered friend.

He grinned ruthlessly down at her.

"So, whose house is this anyway?" His tone had taken on a suspicious note.

She shrugged, leaning slightly away from him as they walked slowly, following an eccentric Aika up ahead of them.

"Just someone I know. You don't know him."

Kai's eyebrows both shot upwards. "HIM."

"Yeah, him."

"Him?"

"YES, him. Wha- N-nani?!"

Suddenly the boy had pulled her up the snow-covered walkway and against the outer wall of the building, pushing her up against it with a mirthless look on his face. She was shivering from the cold of the building pressing into her back, but he equaled it out with his warmth as he leaned forward almost completely into her.

"So, you hang around with other men?"

"K-ai!"

Suddenly his lips had another firm grip on her neck, right where they had landed the last time.

"I don't think I can handle that..." He whispered, and bit down lightly, starting the same attack that had marked her the last time.

Though she was shocked into silence for a moment, that was over with as soon as he bit down. She shouted at him weakly, unable to say much because she couldn't help but sigh into his movements. She tried kicking him, but that didn't really work as they were somehow placed on a patch of the ground that was slippery and she lost her balance, falling out from under him.

He only came with her though, following her to the ground and holding her lower back against one of his hands, pressing her down and into the wall as she sat against it, huffing out a breath after the sudden fall.

"That won't work for you, trying to get away. You see, you made me a little jealous now, so I have to make sure you understand that..."

He dived for her neck again, and this time when he bit down on that same sore spot, she couldn't struggle, as he had firmly planted himself to kneel over her, pinning her helpless.

"Whoa! That's the biggest balcony I've ever seen!"

Aika's voice could be heard somewhere around the corner, and when Akari tried to cry out, a hand suddenly placed itself over her mouth and then the biting at her skin turned into sucking, and she let out a muffled gasp of approval.

Oh come on, what the hell?! Even though she hated this, why did it have to feel so damn good?! It only made it all the more frustrating! And why did things like this even happen to her?!

The hand that wasn't placed at her mouth slowly slid up her thigh, rubbing the fabric of her jeans with urgent fingers, signalling the want that was building up inside the boy. She couldn't help but let out another straggled cry as he moved to a different spot on her neck and started his attack there, and she cursed herself silently, as her noise was only seeming to encourage him.

"Now, are you gonna tell me whose house this is? And who that guy is that lives here, so I can go beat him up for making me all jealous over you?"

"Oh, are you referring to me?"

* * *

_What an _interesting_ turn of events... _Thought Tora as he stood to the side of the couple of teenagers, the girl on the ground looking up at him with amazed silver eyes and the young man assaulting her staring over his shoulder at Tora with a sneer that looked nothing like his old rival, Usui's. This kid looked like he just wanted a good lay from the girl pinned beneath him. Meanwhile, Usui always looked overprotective of his girl because he thought of her for more than just sex. The two couldn't be more different- but perhaps...

Perhaps this boy could make a semi-decent rival?

"Get off of Miss Michiyo, would you? That position looks a bit uncomfortable for her." He caught Akari's eye and at first she looked grateful- and then she just looked put up with both of the boys with her. The red on her face, he knew, wasn't just from the other boy's actions, but because of her own rising anger.

"I think she likes this just fine." The kid suddenly reached back to Akari, pulled her chin up with a jerk of his hand, and brought her lips to his in a demanding kiss.

Tora went rigid.

This wasn't mild rivalry, all of a sudden. This was aggravation. He suddenly felt like Usui himself when he said;

"Hey." He stalked forwards and grabbed the back of the boy's jacket, pulling him and his lips off of Akari. "I said don't touch her."

"What the hell is going on, what'd I miss?"

Tora turned, the other guy's jacket still rolled up in his fist as he was holding him back, and saw a beautiful girl standing behind him. He almost would have found her worthy of sleeping with him- full chest, nice hair, good legs- except she somehow didn't appeal to him. Her face looked sharp, sexy, and womanly. He liked more of a... younger look in girls, he supposed.

He watched as she glared at him, then he gaze flickered over his shoulder and he turned to see Akari standing up and straightening herself out. He almost smiled- almost, but withheld it- when he saw she was wearing the sweater he gave her. Then he visibly sneered when he saw the markings all along her neck.

She seemed to notice them too as her hand flew up to touch them, and then she turned to look down at the boy trying and failing to rip his jacket out of Tora's grasp.

"How am I supposed to go to school like this?! Kai, what's your _problem_?" She glared at the other blonde boy with a look that would leave him thoroughly dead if looks could kill.

"I was jealous." The boy shrugged, and Tora finally let go of his jacket out of mere disgust.

"Of what?" This time the girl behind Tora spoke up, walking forward and helping the boy to his feet.

"Of me."

All three classmates looked to Tora. He smirked at each of them in turn, but when his eyes found Akari's, that silver gaze leveling with his golden one, his smirk seemed to lose some of its- well- smirk.

"Are you alright?"

"Of course I am now. Anyway, I might as well introduce you to..." She gestured to the pair beside her awkwardly. They both, the girl and the boy, glared at him in even disgust. "This is Sei- er, well RIGHT NOW it's Kai. And that's Aika-san."

There was nothing pleasant about the moments that followed the introduction.

"This is my estate," Tora said in a firm, cold, and authoritative voice. "And normally people aren't allowed here unless given permission by an Igarashi. Be that as it is, I would have to ask you, the both of you, to leave." His gaze landed pointedly on the other blonde. "And not come back."

"We're here with Akari, doesn't that mean we can stay?" The girl said, flicking her hair out of her face and practically growling her words at him.

"She is not an Igarashi, therefore-" He extended his arm in the direction of the front drive. "Leave."

This time, the boy spoke up, grabbing Akari around the waist in an annoyingly possessive way.

"Then she gets to come with us."

Tora watched the two of them together. Akari looked not only uncomfortable, but also on the verge of letting forth a torrent of curses and other inappropriate words that should probably not be said aloud so clearly at the Igarashi's estate for the whole world to hear. He jumped in on cue then.

"No. You have no right to be here, but she does."

Akari suddenly pulled away from the other boy and neared Tora with a murderous gaze in her eyes. She stopped in front of him, making sure no one could see when she mouthed something like; _Don't let that pervert know I live here_. Tora nodded in understanding, and enjoyed the surprised noise she made when he suddenly pushed her around and behind him. He stepped forward to face her two friends with that signature sweet smile of his that hid an evil intent underneath it.

"What ya gonna do rich boy? Call your personal guards on us or something?" The girl gave him a sneer that could win first place if it were a contest to see who could look like they hated the other the most.

"No. I am entirely capable on my own."

"You bastard... you're so damn smug, huh?"

Tora's gaze turned to the boys in stubborn irritation.

"Get off. My property." He said it so sternly, almost exactly like his father would. He could practically feel the fear radiating from the other young man, and his smirk reappeared on his face as he stepped forward slightly.

"Not without Akari. We were talking with her, she wanted to show us the mansion."

Suddenly the one boy looked at the other girl. "...When did that happen? I don't really remember..."

The girl sighed and waved a hand at him dismissively. "You wouldn't."

"Enough." Tora's tone caused both of the unwanted guests to quiver and jump. "I said to get out of here, and I'd like that to be done. Get a move on, please, we're wasting daylight like this."

"Alright you bastard, quit it with the talking and let's settle this like men. Your words are annoying me."

* * *

Akari was amazed at the difference between the Tora from the night before and the one in front of her now. So amazed, in fact, that therefore, she was unable to cooperate in conversation while he was scolding her friends, telling them to get out of sight. She, of course, wanted to tell him to stop dictating for once and convince him to let her friends stay, but she was shocked into not speaking.

When he and Kai proceeded to start a brawl with each other though, she snapped out of it and yelled at both of them for acting like children.

"Hey! Stop it you two- baka, baka... BAKA! STOP RIGHT NOW!"

The two boys, who had been slowly approaching each other with purpose, only stopped when Akari ran around in between them and stood there, turning her head from one blonde to the other. Tora scoffed, but backed off. Instead though, of turning to leave, he stood right by Akari's side, a little TOO close, and refused to move.

Akari sighed heavily, confused by his sudden efforts at being involved in her life, and then asked her friends to please go and she would see them when the weekend ended, at school. She was suddenly very exhausted and she was hoping they could both see that and back off silently...

Kai turned slightly, and gave her a nod and a flirtacious wink, his eyes fluttering at her in quiet consent to her words. After a last long look at her, his eyes going up and down and stopping at all the inappropriate parts, he turned and began to walk in the direction of the limo without a word. Akari could've sworn she felt Tora tense up beside her, but other than that he stayed as he was, hovering next to her, his hand barely grazing hers as he stood a bit closer.

Aika gave Tora a glare, as he was exactly the type of stereotype she thought up in her head and despised, and then decided to rebuke him with her own signature smirk.

"Come on Akari, just blow off moneybags here and come hang with your friends instead."

Tora glared, and Akari took a deep breath and shook her head in defeat to her exhaustion.

"No, Aika, I really can't today. But tomorrow, I'd love to come to your place."

"Hmf. But we were already in the middle of something today... hey, maybe if we throw him a brick of gold he'll go to fetch it and leave us alone, like the good little purebred dog that he is." She stuck her tongue out at the blonde, trying to get on his nerves.

"That's enough now. Your facetious remarks are irritating me. Get off my property." Tora tilted his chin up and peered down at Aika with a look of disdain.

"No, _old man_."

Tora seemed to tense even more beside Akari. She didn't see this ending well.

"Um-" She jumped in before the two could start strangling each other. "I promise we can hang out before the weekend is over. Tomorrow, text me your address and I'll meet you there."

Aika seemed, at last, pleased with the answer she got and gave her friend a look of approval when turning to leave. But as she started following after Kai she started to speak over her shoulder in a careless tone;

"I hope you don't mind being the only other girl there with me- I'm inviting Ryuunosuke and Seiji as well. Hey~" The raven-haired girl turned her head back to pass on a mischievous look to Akari and Tora over her shoulder. "It could be like a double date, hah!"

Tora suddenly stepped forward as Akari was nodding her head to her friend in an 'I really don't care either way' manner.

"If you don't leave sooner," He said in a flat tone. "I'll kick you out myself, personally."

The girl nodded her head, but not to him. She had put her ear buds back in once again and wasn't paying attention to the conversation any longer.

Tora suddenly turned on Akari like a wild animal.

"You didn't tell them... about last night, did you?"

"If I say I did what would you do?"

His eyes widened suddenly, and he looked about ready to hit her. She braced herself- but suddenly the conversation was left on the wind as he grabbed her hand lightly in his and started to walk her back to the house with him. He wouldn't let go of her hand even when she jerked on it. It was kind of reminding her of last night.

"Forget that. Your neck looks a bit sore, and we have to get you warmed up too."

She glanced at his bare arms, her eyes catching the slight bulge of his biceps before settling on the short sleeves of his button up.

"I'm probably better off than you."

He made a sort of scoffing sound as he opened the front door and pulled her with him into the warmth of the front hall. His hand was still glued to hers as he dragged her around the house, and she could hardly keep up with his long strides.

Akari took a moment to glance at his face. It was set into it's usual sternly cool, uncaring look that you couldn't read into. If you weren't paying attention to his actions, you would think he didn't care at all about the situation and he was too busy indulging in his own thoughts. But if you realized just what it was he was doing... well, to Akari, she was starting to see more to him than a smug, smirking, rich bachelor and womanizer. She was starting to see... he did care. Sometimes, he did. Even just a little.

"Tora."

"What."

"I'm really okay... thank you, but I'll be fine on my own."

He stopped abruptly, and she realized that they were just outside her bedroom door. When he didn't turn around to face her, but only continued to clamp onto her hand like he was, she wondered if he was starting to hate her for seeing through his disguises...

* * *

"Hmm. I suppose you don't want to be rude to me, because of last night."

He suddenly turned around to face her, just catching the way her jaw opened ever so slightly before she forcibly closed it. He kept his face blank and his eyes low on hers as he talked monotonously, mechanically.

"You can tell me if I'm pissing you off, Akari. Don't think I can't handle it."

Almost instantly, her face grew pink, which changed gradually to a darker sort of red.

"You didn't have to be so unfair. You were being rude, to my friends!"

"Give me a reason to care."

She looked at him in shock while he sighed dismissively shrugging his shoulders with his words.

"You bipolar blonde..." She tried to nudge past him, reaching for the handle of the door, but he suddenly reached out and snatched her arm, his firm grip latched on perfectly as he gazed down at her, the smirk hiding just underneath his grim appearance.

"Surely, something truly is wrong with you." She gave him a confused look and then he gave her the slightest smile. "That was a weak insult."

When she tried to open her mouth, but closed it instead without a word, he continued, leaning forward slightly.

"Tell me, does my presence somehow make you weaker?"

"I think you're voicing your feelings in a rather strange way, Igarashi." Her gaze found his, evening so equally that it started to bug him.

"What are you saying?"

"You're telling me how you truly feel, not how I do. I think it's you who feels weaker whenever I'm around."

Shocked into momentary oblivion by her words, Tora accidentally loosened his grip on her and she slipped away, opening the door to her room with a tiny creak.

Before either of them could say more, she was abruptly being stopped again as he easily slipped in her way, in between the cracked door and herself. He peered down at her, her words still running through his head, but he was determined to not let them bug him until after he dealt with this.

"You- get out of the way!" She looked both exhausted and annoyed- a good mixture, he thought.

"No."

"Erm-" She stumbled a moment, not expecting such an abrupt and sudden denial of her demands. Then, inches from his face, she blew up in a gathered rage. "You blonde machiavallian! You golden-eyed menace! You wealthy narcissist! You devilish sadist! You stoic nuissance! You suave craftsman! You sly incubus! You pervy sycophant! You Svengali bachelor! You... you shameful opportunist, you're a lecherous tiger!"

He only remained stoically calm and blinked down while she shouted her many harsh nick names. He was actually surprised by the words she used- and the talented comebacks that were formed using them. Then, as she was just about to start up again, saying even more, he quickly leaned forwards, moving down until his lips connected with hers, capturing her words in his mouth as he kissed her, and for the first time it was done sweetly, softly, dearly.

...Intimately.

"Stm...bt..." She mumbled as their lips connected, but soon, she joined in with his gentle fervor. Their lips were melding in a distracting way, and Tora turned her a little bit, nudged the door behind her, and pushed her with him backwards into the room, his tongue barely grazing her bottom lip. She tried to mumble something that again got caught on his lips, and then his hand slid down her side, down to her hips, sliding a bit over her jeans...

Tora smirked, abruptly pulling back, her phone in his hand. She opened her eyes after he broke the kiss, staring at him with a surprised face, flushed and confused and dazed. He quickly backed out of the room, pulling a specific key from one of his pockets, and no sooner could she react then he had already closed the door between them, shoved the key in the lock, and swiftly flipped it, successfully locking her inside of her room.

"Igarashi?...TORA!"

"You will not be going out tomorrow with your friends. The first reason being that I don't want you telling them about anything going on with my life or family. The other thing is..." Tora paused for a moment, and she seemed to pause as well, listening for him on the other side of the door. "...You shouldn't be associated so closely with such a dangerous character like that Seiji, or Kai, fellow- as his personality disorder can get out of hand- like it did today."

When he was done talking she had already started to throw her hands against the door, demanding his attention.

"Let me out of my room, are you sick or drunk or something?! Try to think clearly! You can't lock me up, you can't possibly be allowed to do that!"

Tora shook his head disappointingly, turning with his back to the door as a sad smile flew across his face and vanished at the same instant it came.

"Ah, when will you learn?" He leaned against her shaking door quietly. "Haven't I told you? I'm an Igarashi. I can do whatever the hell I want and you have no way of stopping me."

"Think..." He heard her slam her body once into the door, and then a thump, like she had slid to the ground. "This isn't fair... you aren't thinking clearly!"

"I am." He stood up straight, pulling away from her door, his eyes holding an uncertain look in them. He should leave her alone now, soon.

"You can't think, just from what you saw today, that my friends are so terrible? I mean, Aika has a nasty attitude, sure, but I can be like that at times too. And Seiji- Seiji's only like that when he's Kai, and even then nothing ever really happens because I make sure not to let things get out of hand! He's just a tease, and I can take control-

"Have you seen your neck, lately?"

That shut her up.

"I'll have someone bring you your meals tomorrow." He started to walk away, feeling a sense of nostalgia coming on. His father had done something like this to him once.

"I'm a prisoner in my own house? In my own _room_?"

And he had said something similar to that back to his father, when this had happened to him. He decided to answer the only way he could- the way his father would.

"Just try to behave yourself for once and stay in your room, Akari."

"I don't see that I really have much of a choice..." She mumbles, which he catches as he walks away, feeling a little guilty for his actions, no, more than guilty, though he could've sworn he never felt guilt, ever, for anyone. He didn't used to.

Regardless of how he felt now, he couldn't go back on what he had done already. He was too full of pride, too stubborn for that. His ego couldn't take it.

As Tora walked, it gave him some time to think to himself. He didn't really have any reason to be doing this. He actually didn't fully understand why he'd taken her phone and locked her up like that. He was unsure of why her friends annoyed him so much- especially the boy. He really hadn't a clue...

Tora knew one thing for sure though. This feeling that he got when he remembered it... it was an ugly feeling. He sneered at the thought once again, the image that came across his mind. Watching that other boy kiss her caused his head to buzz in enough anger to make him want a good long drink of sake or some other form of alcohol, so he could forget it as quickly as possible.

And with that thought, as he entered his own room, he walked straight to the bar kept in the far corner. He pulled the only thing he had on hand that wouldn't get him too drunk if he drank just a bit of it- an expensive bottle of wine- and with a relief filled gaze watched it pool into the wine glass as he poured himself a drink.

* * *

**A/N: You know in this chapter when Akari's talking about how Tora really sometimes does care, as he's pulling her down the hallway? That was based off of the Maid Sama episode 19 "Re-Paired in the Footman Audition" you know, when it's nearly over and it shows the short clip of Tora telling Maki that he can use a spot owned by the Igarashi Foundation for Maki's butler cafe? I just noted from that part that when Tora turns around and the camera is on his face, with Maki behind him left in shock, Tora smiles just a little bit- it's basically the first time in the storyline that we see that he has a softer side to him- (eh-hem: that he really does care) when he's treating Maki like a friend but not really saying it so straight like that. He simply gives his Vice President a place to put the butler cafe that the guy wants so bad- but it's an act with a hidden kind meaning in it and I thought Tora was being really sweet in that episode. :)**

**Now then...**

**Oh. my. bloody. hell. god. kami. deity. greater being. thing in the sky.**

**I AM SO GLAD THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH NIGHT TIME ROCKS! ****sorry, that was just an answer I had to put forth to one of the anonymous reviews. ****(I had no idea other people wished we all lived at night! seriously, can we all please be nocturnal? you don't have to be a raccoon or a bat or a vampire- we can stay human I guess, if you want- but I just want everyone to live the night life! I want to breath in the beauty of the moon, I want to whisk around in the shadows, I want to see things that you can't catch with your eyes during the day!)**

**Anywho, also, this goes out to ALL of my reviewers: guys I truly appreciate you. You're the best support a fanfictioner could get, really. I like and tremendously enjoy your reviews, short or long, harsh or polite, critique-y or not- I just LOVE to receive them! Makes me feel like this story is worth typing up. Also, to go out on a random short tangent here, I wanna say I love Aika, you know, Akari's friend? She strikes me as entertaining. I would hang out with her- despite her unpleasantries. **

**I felt like I had to add this word in somehow, because it was in the reviews. DUPLICITOUS!**

**Tora is proving to show some highly duplicitous behavior towards Akari, locking her up like that, eh? **

**On an entirely unrelated note, I hope you keep reading, cuz there may (or may not... hehe I'm such a tease) be some LEMON coming up in le story _soon_! Or _not_ soon! You will just have to keep reading to know! haha, tease tease tease... you love me anyway, right though?**

**Whoa, I'm sorry, my tyrant side has been strangely absent for this particular A/N... Peasants... oh, that's better. :) PEASANTS!**

**Bwahaha! ****I love you, mwah! *:**

**CK :***

**P.S~ do I talk too much? **

**P.P.S~ psst, the answer is YES, I DO :| I apologize for my rants of overbearing words but I can't help it, OKAY? V_V *sigh* guys, I have a problem. someone duct tape my mouth. or I guess glue my fingers together, since I'm typing this...**

**P.P.S.S~ eh-hem, since the anonymous reviewer learned a new word 'duplicitous' I decided to teach you ALL a new word that I LOVE to say and use: boondoggle. It means, and this is the legitimate description of the word- 'work of little or no value done merely to look busy' heh, in school, I bet we're all doing some boondoggling, aren't we? don't lie. everyone does it. STOP LYING! I CAN SEE YOU LYING! I have lie-vision. Yes. I do. And I'm not lying. Because you can't tell because you DON'T have lie-vision. So HA.**

**Maybe I should start acting my age... naaaahhhh, not with my peasants! you guys don't wanna see my serious, deep, mature side anywho... do you? ohoho...**

**No. You don't care. I can see it with my lie-vision that you're acting like you care but really just want to read the next chapter so you want me to stop typing this super long author's note and get to updating. :'( sowwy, I talk SOO MUCH and I know it too but can't stop! SERIOUSLY, GET THE DUCT TAPE.**


	10. Fragile Woman, Likeable Girl

**A/N: *Author has duct tape covering her mouth and, FINALLY, a filter in her brain to make her stop over-feeding you peasants with information and words***

**...**

**Mrrf. Mfft. Hmmf.**

* * *

**Chapter Ten. Fragile Woman, Likable Girl**

Monday morning came with a fuming music-lover, a perverted Gemini, and a terrible headache.

"GUYS," Akari groaned, slumping forward in her desk. "I already explained to you, I was LOCKED IN! How could I have possibly met up with you?"

Aika inched closer to her face, but Akari just hid it in her arms.

"You. Could have. CALLED ME!"

"Didn't have my phone. It was stolen by a tiger."

"EXCUSES, EXCUSES!"

"Gee, you could at least come up with something believable." Kai added in.

Yes, apparently, he had remained Kai for all of Sunday, and moving into Monday. Akari was starting to doubt that Seiji was taking his pills or whatever helped him repress his 'other side'. She groaned and then gasped when a hand squeezed up her knee.

"KAI!"

"What? I'm finishing where I left off."

"In the classroom?!"

"I'm sorry," His dark eyes glinted malevolently as she raised her head to glare at him. "Do you wanna go find that supply closet again?"

Akari didn't have to exert the effort of slapping him, because Aika beat her to it.

"DON'T SEDUCE HER WHILE I'M DOING AN INTERROGATION!"

"You know what Aika, you're really sour. That's why I'm pursuing Mana-chan and not you- I bet she tastes sweet as-"

He was cut off when an Ipod was shoved up his nose.

Akari sighed as the two fought on, their screaming rage at one another wasn't amusing, more like edging on her headache that was steadily growing in her head. It thumped against her skull in waves of pressure and she leaned back, praying to whatever god there was that the day would come to a close sooner rather than later.

* * *

"Do you need anything?"

Tora was finally with his mother now, and though he was dressed in his school uniform, he had refused to leave the house. After a servant informed him that he was allowed to visit her, Tora had quickly called up Maki and asked him to handle his work for the day, and hadn't left his mother's room since.

One of the woman's pale, frail hands reached over and touched his arm affectionately. Tora looked deeply into her eyes- she appeared weak but strong at the same time. Of course, she was an Igarashi, she was strong and she could fight this off. He didn't need to worry...

"Tora, I'm fine."

"...You don't want any water?"

"Tea would be nice, actually."

Soon Tora was on his feet. With his regal steps, he walked across the room to the small tea station at the far wall, and rolled up the sleeves of his white jacket as he began to ready her tea.

His mother watched him through filmy eyes. He was so tall now, where had her little boy gone? He was almost as tall as herself, he must've now reached just over her shoulder. As she watched him, his back stiff and his shoulders set as he leaned over and began brewing some tea, she felt a pang of sympathy and worry take over. He, such a regal, calm, controlled young man, how did he look so lonely to her? He was tall and he was handsome, with a striking face that could catch whomever's attention. And yet he had no girl, except his fiance, though she knew he didn't love her and the girl herself merely respected and obeyed Tora. She didn't see them getting married, even though it was planned.

So, where was he now? In his life- he was so quiet and careful to stay out of her way that she wasn't sure how he felt about situations, but she was his mother and so she purely went by instinct. She watched him closely, his strong hands swift in their tasks, picking out the kettle, turning on the heat, pulling out spices and other things. He moved so surely, so confidently, and yet... when he turned slightly, so that she could see the profile of his face, his eyes were lowered, his mouth pulled in a certain serious way.

Calm on the surface, broken on the inside.

"Tora?"

His back was facing her as he was still busy in his preparations.

"Yes Okaasan?" His voice was rich and composed perfectly.

"I was wondering, why are you here today? Skipping school, much less, making me tea when any servant could do it. You should be working."

"I'm simply taking a break in order to watch over you, as a man of this household, I feel I must at the very least spend a day by your side while you are ill."

She continued to watch him as he took long, sweeping steps to his right, grabbing something from a tray.

"I suppose there's no wrong in it, if it's just for today. Did Akari go to school, at least?"

His mother blinked in surprise when her son's back suddenly went even more rigid than it already was. It was a very, very tiny movement, but his hands also seemed to fumble with whatever he was handling. Of course, it only took a split second for him to gain control and become fully composed once again, continuing with his busywork, but his mother had caught on by then already.

"Yes, she is at her school as we speak." His voice was, again, rich and composed perfectly.

"Hmm... why does she go to that Seika High again? I had thought it was agreed she'd attend Miyabigaoka."

Mrs. Igarashi could've sworn she saw him shift a little in a miniature twitch, but he was now being overly careful about his movements, and it was hardly noticeable. The kettle whistled softly and he smoothly took it from the heat and started to pour a cup for her.

"I... arranged for that of my own accord."

"Hmm..." His mother said again, and was about to say more when suddenly he whipped around and, like an elegant butler, brought the tea cart rolling over to her. She stared at the many steaming cups in a look of boredom.

"I was unsure of what to make you, and then remembered you liked these three the best." He shrugged his shoulders as she stared at the three small cups. "I don't expect you to drink them all, but whichever you don't chose, I'll have."

Her eyes tried to meet his but he was looking to the side, out the window. the sunlight only made a single patch of light on the floor behind him, and the rest of the room was kept dark, in case his sick mother wanted any sleep.

Tora watched his mother pick a random cup and he waited until she sipped at it and made a pleasant face until he grabbed another. Personally, he didn't favor tea, but it was calming. And so he left the tea cart where it was and stood up tall, sipping at his tea and crossing his legs as he thought about something quick to say before she asked more about schools and a certain girl living in their home.

"I'd like to-

"So why did you have her transfer?" His mother made her voice clearer, despite her ill state, she was as fiercely determined as ever.

"It was- a decision made without a lot of thought."

"You, not thinking things through?" Tora's mother made a sound like a scoff, mixed with a sniff. "Tora, do not lie to your sick mother. That's shameful."

Tora bowed his head and set his tea cup down, apologetically.

"It's not that I am lying, as I realize now that it really was a decision made without much thought."

"What were you thinking in the first place?"

"Please, could we talk about something less unimportant?"

"Alright. Women."

Tora blinked down at his mother, openly confused. She simply took another sip of tea, one hand reaching up to push back her sweaty bangs. He then frowned. How could someone so fragile, also have such a fierce look in their eye? His mother was truly something, but then again she had to be, of course, in order for someone like his father to chose her.

"Are there any young girls in your life, Tora?" She asked, and then took another sip.

His mother watched his reactions carefully, but the most she got was the small muscle in his jaw twitching as he locked it in place.

"Of course. There's Chiyo."

"That's not who I meant."

* * *

"Mana~chaaaann~~~~!"

"GET AWAY FROM ME YOU DIRTY GEMINI!"

"Come on, Mana-chan, lemme finish what I started..."

Akari bolted around the next corner, but he was slipping down the hall right after her. She whizzed by the Prez. and Usui, but she didn't call out to Misaki for help, as the other girl seemed to be in a similar situation with the other blonde boy.

"YOU PERVERTED ALIEN! GET OFF, WE'RE IN THE HALLWAY!"

Akari didn't catch Usui's reply, as she rounded another corner and bolted up a set of stairs without thinking. She could hear the stalking stomps coming from just over her shoulder- it wasn't fair, she had a head start but he was already caught up with her!

"Playing hard to get just makes it more tempting, Mana."

"Stop calling me the wrong name!" She breathed heavily as she kept climbing.

"But you told me that was your name-"

"Well you were calling me by Akari just two days ago!"

_Wait, that was Seiji..._

"EURGH!" She tripped in her frustration.

"The only thing I recall from two days ago, is not getting to finish pleasuring you properly..."

Suddenly, a hand was at her wrist, and she was yanked back into a firm chest. She gasped into his half-unbuttoned school shirt, and realized the situation was going to get much worse before it got better.

For a moment, her gaze wandered over the edge of the railing. They were at the top of the stairs now, one of the several sets in the school that led up to the roof. She seriously considered jumping over the edge...

"Come on, Mana..." His lips were at her ear, and he licked her lobe playfully.

"No! Getoffame! You perverted- ah!"

He suddenly bit the shell of her ear, and the pain caused her to call out in surprised.

"You're a- some sort of- sadistic animal!"

"I like you when you're all riled up, Mana-chan~"

Akari turned her head as far from him as she could, and barely peeked back over the railing. Wait, someone was ascending the stairs... she was saved?!

"H-"

Kai made a move to take her breath away by force, his lips hitting hers uncomfortably. Though they were soft as cream, she didn't kiss back and also refused his tongue access to her mouth. When he let go, put off by her actions, she ripped away from him and did something risky, as soon as she recognized the face belonging to the person climbing the stairs below.

"KANOU!" She screamed, jumping over the railing and experiencing a short burst of both fear and adrenaline, her skirt ruffling during her brief fall. If she had calculated correctly, she would land right-

"Akari-san?!"

In his arms.

"Thank _god__. _Good catch." She said, as he struggled to hold himself steady after she fell right onto him- he had opened his arms to catch her right just in time.

"What on-"

"Don't talk, just get me out of here quickly!" She looked up and saw the _very _shocked, very angered face of Kai above them, as the blonde boy leaned over the railing.

"You're not invincible, you know." Kanou said pointedly as he turned and hurried with her in his arms down the stairs.

"Hmf. Falling such a short distance wouldn't hurt me."

"Onto a set of slippery stairs..."

"I'm wearing grippy shoes!"

"That's not really the issue..."

"You need to just focus on finding a place for us to hide. This school is pretty big, right?"

He turned down a hall she didn't recognize, running past a few bulletin boards until coming to a halt and setting her down. He was breathing heavily, having had run down a flight of steps, down a few halls, all the while with her in his arms.

"I wouldn't say it's too large, but hiding shouldn't be hard."

"Well where do you think that pervert won't look?"

Kanou mumbled something along the lines of "Dunno." Before Kai zipped right around the corner, finding them already. He was out of breath as well, his shirt almost completely undone now too.

"Jeez, Mana-chan, you're being awfully risky." He straightened up and flung his light blonde hair dramatically.

"Do you guys normally play tag at lunch time?" Kanou asked jokingly, though his tone was serious enough.

"Kai, could you please leave me alone?"

"Not with another man!"

"It's just Kanou!"

Kanou looked down at his feet, flushing in embarrassment. She turned to him and grabbed his arm.

"No, that's not- I mean, sorry, Kanou. You're awesome, don't worry."

He smiled just barely enough for her to see, despite her quite lousy apology. He only shook his head in humor at her hurried words.

"Alright, come on, enough games. Let's do each other good before we run out of energy because of all this chasing."

Kai advanced towards her, but Kanou simply stood in the way, quietly calm. He grabbed Akari's hand behind him.

"If a girl is willing to risk getting hurt just to get away from you," He said in a smart sort of tone. "doesn't that mean she's not interested?"

Kai blinked, stopped moving, and took a moment to think. Maybe somewhere within, Seiji was yelling at his other self, telling him to stop acting like a lunatic; but before anything could be said for sure Akari was suddenly pulled out a set of doors, cold air rushing around her and flushing her cheeks as Kanou brought her with him outside.

"Where are we going to hide?" She asked as he skirted around the edge of the building, and stopped for a moment. She received a very unexpected answer, as he suddenly yanked painfully on her arm, and dove into a cardboard mess that looked like some sort of project for the student council, with her in tow.

It wasn't a very ideal way to hide, with her aching head pressed into his chest and the rough feel of cardboard scratching at her bare legs, but Kai ran by without even noticing them, as the stacks of brown boxes and layers of cut up boards in odd shapes made them hidden and safe.

"Sorry." Kanou grunted, lightly pulling her off of him like she was a small china doll.

Not thinking at all, she took a deep breath and wrapped him up in her arms. So cute! He was so shy and careful with her... the exact opposite of that-

She suddenly growled, and just as quickly pulled away from the boy. _Igarashi_. He had locked her up! Sure, he had let her out now, but just the fact that he had actually locked her in her own room! That BASTARD! That- that stupid little fake little rich boy tyrant! She had thought she was starting to stop disliking him, but now- NOW she just, hated him! It may not be for forever that she feels this, but for now, the rage soared through her like a sugar high that wouldn't stop. With purpose, she yanked herself from the mess of boxes, barely noticing the cold in the air as she stood up, grumbling to herself.

"Ahhuuumm..." An uncomfortable voice said behind her.

She turned to see Kanou, who was blushing and still lying back into the brown cardboard mess, his legs and arms spread out and his face looking unsure. She quickly gave him a smile and helped him to his feet again.

"I'm sorry, if I've acted strange just now, it was... the cause of all this lunacy!" She waved her arms, exasperated, hoping she hadn't hurt his feelings.

"It's... fine. What exactly is wrong with, er-"

"Seiji?"

"Yeah. Weren't you calling him Kai?"

"He's got a double personality."

"Makes sense."

"Yup."

"...Yeah."

Silence.

She glanced at him. His glasses were gone, she noticed, and his sapphire eyes looked so beautiful it almost made her want to hug him again. Instead, she bent down and started shifting through the cardboard cut outs.

"What are you-"

"Your glasses. They must have flown off when... we fell."

"I'm sorry I pulled you like that."

"Oh, what?" She came back up, holding his glasses in her hands. Thankfully, they were unharmed. "It's totally fine so long as that idiot is gone!"

He stared at her for a short moment, as if adding something up in his head, and then he took his glasses appreciatively and moved out of the mess of boxes he was standing in.

"Do you wanna... er, come have lunch with me and Shouichirou?"

Akari thought for a moment, her face blank as she stared back at him.

"Shou...ichirou?"

"Oh. Yukimura."

"Right, sorry, I don't call him by his first name."

Kanou shrugged.

"Yeah, we're good friends, so..."

"Makes sense."

"Yup."

"...Yeah."

Silence.

Realizing that they had just repeated themselves from a few moments before, Akari sighed and started walking towards the side doors leading into the school.

"So, let's head to the student council room?"

"Um, yeah." Kanou was suddenly right behind her, following her back inside.

"Annnd we probably shouldn't mention that we... fell on their project."

"That was just the recycling..."

"Oh. That makes more sense."

"Yes."

"...Yeah."

Silence.

* * *

Tora walked out of his mother's room, shutting the door quietly behind him. He had just finished cleaning up the tea, setting everything back where it was, and as he had done that his mother had fallen asleep.

He passed through the halls purposefully, and finally reached the door of the study. Walking in, he realized with a grumble from his stomach that the tea was the only thing he'd had to eat today, as he had skipped breakfast and lunch. Maybe he could eat later, but for now, the only thing that could busy his mind from the words that his mother had said could be paperwork.

As he sat down at an elegant mahogany desk and started shifting through piles of invites and school papers and formal agreements, he frowned as his thoughts couldn't become caught up in his work. He had come here, solely for the purpose of distraction, but the black words on white paper were just making his mind lose focus. Black on white, white and black, words and words, signature here, stamp of approval there, it was a steady process he was so used to that he could have it all done in no time. But as his mother's words still seemed to haunt him, all he could do was look over everything and sigh in aggressive annoyment.

_I like Akari. She's outside of the box, like her mother was..._

Tora's eyes glanced over a letter he had opened. 'The so-and-so organization would like to propose that the Igarashi Foundation work in unison on the so-and-so project, provided that it is...'

_...the one young woman who I actually find suitable for my son. It's funny really, because she just so happens to be my best friend's daughter..._

Tora set the letter back in it's envelope, and picked up a student council paper that would need to be signed by him. He began to read it thoroughly; 'We would like to suggest that the date of the Miyabigaoka fundraiser be moved to an earlier date...'

_Tora, do you like Akari at all?_

The paper was swiftly signed and placed to the corner of the table. Tora reached for another, a whole group of papers stapled together that had to be none other than a business proposal that would distract his interest and thoughts for sure.

_I honestly don't know why I'm so sure of this, but she seems to be a good match for you. I know that Chiyo is a lovely girl with all the right connections, but Akari's the type of strong girl that any Igarashi man needs by his side..._

"This isn't working." Tora said calmly and flatly, setting down the papers and leaning forward, his hands folding so that he could place his chin atop them.

His eyes narrowed as he peered across the room at nothing, his thoughts only of his mother's words to him.

_What is it that you feel when you're around her? After having just told me that you are not interested, then explain yourself. Why aren't you interested? Does she appall you? Annoy you? What feelings do you have towards her? _

Tora just peered into space, not knowing how else to spend the time, as he couldn't move himself or distract himself with work. His mother had suddenly interrogated him back there, and then left him to ponder on it later like this... damn, what was with that woman?

_"I hold no feelings towards her at all. It'a a neutral sort of relationship, she's simply living in our house."_

_"...You really have absolutely no interest in her?"_

_"None at all."_

_"And you feel no need to acknowledge her?"_

_"That's right."_

_"Well that's a blatant lie, Tora. Your father told me that he saw you carrying her to her room the other night."_

_"...Is that so__?" _

_"Yes. So obviously, you care somehow. And Tora, there's another thing."_

_"That proves nothing, and whatever you'll say next will prove nothing as well."_

_"Oh I'm not trying to prove something now. I just wanted to tell you, your father says he likes her fair enough as well."_

_"He doesn't like people easily, Okaasan. You must be mistaken."_

_"That's the thing, Tora, I am _never_ mistaken."_

_"But he doesn't even know her well."_

_"Ah, but it's that feeling that she gives off, isn't it? She makes people feel-_

"Real." Tora didn't think he had said it aloud, but he had, and he had a growing suspicion that his mother knew that he felt it as well.

He hated to get all sentimental, but that girl was somehow changing him. She was the catalyst for the downfall of all of his barriers that he'd worked so hard to build around himself. She could somehow take the fake feeling in his words and gestures, and see what was real underneath.

But what was he to do about it? What was his mother expecting to happen? It's not like he was going to tell her the truth- that yes, he did enjoy Akari, to the extent that he saw her differently- as a prize- and that he just wanted to win her over.

What exactly did he plan to do though? He wasn't 100% sure himself. Sleep with her, that was a given. But he somehow knew that she couldn't just be treated as every other lay he'd gotten.

What the hell was he supposed to be planning towards, then? Akari... damn that likable girl!

* * *

"Hey Mana-chan..."

"Ah!"

*punch, groan, laughter*

"Gee, you're still so fired up!"

Akari sighed and turned around to face the boy she'd accidentally punched in the face. (Though, truth be told, it wasn't really that much of an accident...)

"Get out of here, it's time to go home." She said flatly, and then turned to leave.

She was almost to the doors that lead outside, when a hand planted itself on her shoulder and pulled her back into a firm chest.

"You aren't going anywhere, until I've finished my job."

"Job. Hmf. I don't recall hiring anyone. In fact, I don't think I even sent out any applications." She tried to turn to face him, but he held her back tight against him.

"There's an unused classroom just down that hall." He whispered to her, pointing in a specific direction that she wasn't really paying attention to.

"Kai, I'm not going to have sex with you." Akari hissed at him, deciding to be frank and prayed to god none of the passing students heard that.

"Well... it could just be a little fun. No sex- _yet_."

She struggled in his grasp. She REALLY missed Seiji- funny, loose, easy-going, charismatic Seiji. How could he turn into someone so perverted, dirty, uncaring, pushy, and arrogant? Really, it was beyond her.

"Come on Mana!"

Suddenly, she was being yanked away by the blonde, though she wouldn't come easily.

"Get the fuck off of me or you're asking for it!" She said, smacking his arm, pulling back, digging her heels into the slippery surface of the flooring. It slowed their process, but his grip was like iron, clamped on painfully to her wrist.

"I'm already asking for 'it', but you said no. So we're just going to show each other a good time. Hey, I bet you'll change your mind in the middle of it." He looked back and winked at her, and she wondered how come nobody walking past was trying to help her. What, did they think that her pulling and yelling meant she was enjoying this?!

"KAI, just- just LISTEN." She said as they turned a corner and were suddenly walking down a much emptier hallway.

"Maaaannaaa-chan." He said abruptly. "I don't wanna listen. I wanna do much more than that."

"But-"

She could say no more, for suddenly, another firm grip was on her wrist, and with a powerful jerk, she was free of Kai's grasp and in someone else's. She only saw a flash of snow coming through the window as she was pulled around and had to start running to keep up with someone else's pace.

"That guy is really persistent." A familiar voice noted plainly.

She finally looked up in front of her to see the black-haired boy whisking her around another hallway, pushing up his glasses on his face and then pulling her into the gymnasium.

He lead her behind the bleachers, and put a hand over her mouth when she was panting too loud.

Moments later Kai burst in, and without a second thought he ran to the other side of the gym and exited through the doors there, probably thinking he was still chasing after them when in fact, he'd run right past them.

Kanou let go of her mouth, letting her lean over slightly and catch her breath.

"You- you're really..." She started, and then stopped and had to lean against him for a moment, breathing hard. Jeez, being jerked around at the speed of light wasn't easy.

"No problem." Kanou suggested, since her words couldn't be said clearly, he just accepted her unsaid thank you and watched her catch her breath. She straightened up properly after a moment, blushing when she saw the sincere look on his face.

"You like this, don't you?" She asked, a sly smile gracing her lips.

He blinked, his eyes widening as he looked at her.

"Wh-what?"

"You like to be a hero, getting to save the girl-"

"No, no." He said suddenly, stepping away a little. He looked embarrassed. "I just happened to be walking by-"

"At exactly the moment I needed you?"

"...Yes."

She looked up into his blue eyes, hidden behind those sharp glasses of his. He looked very regal right now, for some strange reason, almost like a prince. He really was some sort of ladies man, she'd bet, even though girls intimidated him.

"Hey, you know, you can relax around me, Kanou." She said, surprising him once again.

"I... know that already." He said, looking away, his face turned to the side so that he didn't have to see her.

On tip toes, she reached up, craning her neck and pulling on his arm to make him bend down a little bit, and gave him a peck on the cheek.

It was nothing really, but his reaction amused her and she had to stifle a busting laugh when he blinked, flipped his head to look at her, and backed up, touching his cheek lightly, and then quickly removing his hand like it had been burned. He had a sort of deer-in-the-headlights look about him now, and his body twitched in an involuntary shudder.

"What- what..." He started, very quietly, but then couldn't say more.

"You earned that. For being my savior for the day. It's 'a token of my gratitude.'" She stated jokingly, remembering that to be something princesses often said in kid movies. "Anyway, thanks for being there for me. Hopefully Kai will revert back to Seiji soon, so I don't have to trouble you so much."

She turned and started to walk away, and when she looked back over her shoulder, he was gone. Momentarily surprised, she turned her head from side to side, and then caught a glimpse of him- hood up, hands stuffed deep into his pockets, hurrying away from her and out the doors at the other end of the gym.

All Akari could do was laugh. The people at this school were so strange. She loved it.

* * *

**A/N: The chapter that I just finished above is the actual chapter. What follows below is what I had originally planned for chapter 10, but scrapped because I wanted to skip a day in order to shorten the story in order to get to the much-awaited lemon chapter quicker. This, (below) is what the chapter had originally been set up to be like, but it was really just going to be a chapter where not much happened, so I switched my approach. Enjoy if you wanna see what had been written before!**

**The Original Chapter Ten. That Was Scrapped Due To It Not Being Important Enough. (aww how sad):**

If anyone were to think that Akari would just give up, give in to someone else's demands so easily, they would be very wrong.

* * *

A single glass of wine had turned into two... and then five... yeah, things were indeed getting out of hand...

* * *

Akari peaked out of each of the large windows in turn. Did they even open? (most windows did!) No...

* * *

Tora peered into the empty bottle of wine. He withheld a hiccup. (men did not hiccup!) Dear god...

* * *

She was trapped.

* * *

He was drunk.

* * *

Seeing no point in trying to break out today, as it was growing further into the evening and it'd be much easier to escape when she wasn't so tired, Akari lazily changed into light pajamas and settled into her bed, restlessly turning this way and that, not content because of the feeling of being trapped that tormented her.

* * *

Tora was sprawled across his couch like a lazy drunken fool. He grinned for no reason, a harsh grin, as he thought about how he wanted to rip that Kai kid's throat out for kissing his prize like that... No, that was a bit gory, wasn't it? He couldn't think proper. Maybe he'd just settle for punching the guy in the face when next he saw him.

* * *

Akari looked at the clock on her nightstand. At first, she had reached out for her phone, only to remember that Tora had taken it, which only enraged her all the more. When she glanced at the time, only 7:38, she became so easily aggravated that she whacked the clock off of it's perch and onto the floor with a soft 'thump'. She groaned miserably, turning in the bed and then trapping her head in a soft place between two pillows. Sleep... that's all she needed for right now... and then she could come up with a plan.

* * *

Tora had been staring at his hand for literally hours. He would grow increasingly amazed by the slice across his palm, cutting through his lifeline in a thinning white scar, and then his eyes would droop and it suddenly only was some stupid scar to him. Which should he be, amazed or tired of looking at it? It was nothing to him. He'd just broken some stupid vase... and then she had helped him. Why had she helped him?

He slowly put his hand in his lap, and then after that his mind lost itself again before it could even pick up on the logical thing he'd been beginning to conjure up in his mind, and he began to have another intense staring contest, this time with the carpet.

* * *

"Miss Michiyo?"

Akari sprang from the bed as if it was made of hot coals. She had been having a nightmare about her father sending servants to come take her unwillingly back to the estate... it was horrid.

"Yeah?" She said, clearing her head and walking to the door, pausing just in front of it.

"I was told to bring you your breakfast?"

Akari's mind jolted, and she was suddenly fully awake. Had that Igarashi menace made a mistake? The maid should have snuck in quietly while she was sleeping... why was she asking permission to enter the room? Perhaps it wasn't a mistake- she might just not have access to the room.

"Do you have a key?"

"Oh, I do Miss."

"Please wait then, I need to dress myself."

"Right, Michiyo-san."

Akari entered the closet and allowed her pajamas to form a pile at the floor as she proceeded to pull herself out of them. Her mind was so active with thoughts of what she was planning to do that she hardly payed attention to the clothes she was putting on. When she exited the closet moments later, she looked down to see herself dressed in a sports bra underneath a widely-stitched beige sweater, and long dark stockings that were warm on her legs. Eh, she guessed it was weather-appropriate, right?

She allowed the maid to enter the room after making sure to be ready by the door, and no sooner had the woman walked past that Akari had bolted into the hallway, the only words she offered over her shoulder being brief with no explanation in them.

"Just set the food on the table!"

* * *

Tora moaned and stood up from the couch, swaying the slightest bit. He may be in a drunken daze, but even the heavy influence of alcohol couldn't dumb down his brilliant mind- he needed to shower, sober up, get ready, and check on Akari. He hadn't slept at all but for a few uncomfortable naps he'd fallen into on the couch, and he was now still wide awake with a kink in his neck and a slight headache. He somehow found the bathroom and closed the door behind himself, stripping down to the skin and sighing heavily. He needed a good shower, then to check on her...

* * *

The door was locked.

He always locked his door, even when he was in the room, wasn't that right? Of course she should have thought of that!

To get the address to Aika's house, she needed the phone. And to get the phone, she needed to get into his room. But even if his door was left unlocked, what did she expect? If he was awake, he'd lock her up again, overpower her again, wouldn't he? It'd be easy as the last time. She hated sexism, but one had to be realistic. The male species was built stronger than the female, it was a known fact that there was no use getting around-

The door began to open slowly in front of her. Flinching, Akari barely had time to jump out of the way, behind it, before it opened fully and a dripping Igarashi stepped into the hall...

**(And that's as far as I got to. Maybe, if requested, I can continue this as a sort of *BONUS chapter, that doesn't really follow the story line and is just there for your entertainment. I could turn it into a fun little lemon if you want. But since I'm a lazy buffoon, I really don't feel like doing that, unless, of course, it is requested by one of my viewers. I'll do anything for you guys! ;D Laziness, abandoned! Juss' for ya! ****Anyway, since I've so far written no more after Tora steps out of his room, I'll let your imaginations think up whatever happens next. SUCH A TEASE! ;)**

* * *

**A/N: Oh. Hi. So, finally got the duct tape off my mouth. My lips feel positively raw. -_-**

**As a short answer for the kind reviewer Princess Sakura2456, actually, about the lemony goodness, I have that chapter already written up, (it's quite delectable), and I am simply waiting to insert it at the correct place into the story. Also, about my OC being a virgin or not- that is also included already in the lemon chapter I have written, as I decided if she was or not before hand, and I guess you'll just have to wait and see for the answer... ;3  
**

**"Critique me!" My story says. "Review, Follow, Favorite!" It cries a again.**

**You all, you all who review, I love you. **

**And all of you who don't review- eh, I love you too. ^_^ **

**Just thanks for even viewing my story in the first place! I'm so happy that ya do~!**

**Also, I wanted this chapter to simply be a fill-in-the-blank chapter, ya know? Where nothing vitally necessary really happens, it's just sort of... there. That's why it's relatively short compared to most of the other chapters. **

**Going back on what I just said, I guess it is kind of important that Kanou and Akari are growing closer. It's a build-up for a rivalry. Oh, how scrumptious!**

**CK :***


	11. The Green-Eyed Monster's Four-Eyed Rival

**A/N: The following is an excerpt from a play I WISH I owned, but alas, (DISCLAIMER) I do not own Shakespeare's play _Othello. _I also (2nd DISCLAIMER) do not own Kaichou wa Maid-sama!**

_Iago: "Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy!_

_It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock_

_The meat it feeds on. That cuckold lives in bliss_

_Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger,_

_But, oh, what damnèd minutes tells he o'er_

_Who dotes, yet doubts— suspects, yet soundly loves!"_

_Othello: "Oh, misery!"_

-Interpretation-

_Iago: "Beware of jealousy, my lord! It's a green-eyed monster that makes fun of the victims it devours. The man who knows his wife is cheating on him is happy, because at least he isn't friends with the man she's sleeping with. But think of the unhappiness of a man who worships his wife, yet doubts her faithfulness. He suspects her, but still loves her."_

_Othello: "Oh, what misery!"_

**I picture Iago talking to Othello, as Maki talking to Tora. It fits, huh?**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven. The Green-Eyed Monster's Four Eyed Rival**

Well Akari wasn't talking to him. In fact, she was making a clear point in avoiding him.

Let the record show that this had never before happened to Tora Igarashi. Woman don't avoid him, if anything, they flock to him like moths to a golden flame.

And the fact that this one girl in particular was very fixedly shunning him, both made him more attracted to her, and pissed him off as well.

The only glimpse he had caught of her in the past few days had been Monday night, when she had come home from school and they had just so happened to pass each other in the hallway- though he had only been able to eye the many marks still portrayed on her neck before she bolted, the last he ever saw of her being her swinging ponytail as she rounded the next corner.

Now, when he saw those marks on her skin again, he had seen red (both literally- the love bites had indeed taken on a shade of light red- and also in the figurative sense). Old feelings had started to strike out at him again, the feelings he used to feel whenever he would see Usui paired together with Misaki. Anger, a strong sense of possessiveness, irritation.

Envy.

Tora shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and emotions. Work. He had to focus on his work.

But suddenly, a knock on the large double doors just ahead of him met his ears, and as soon as Tora said for whomever it was to come in, a boy with long black hair and slanted eyes walked into Tora's student council office. Kanade.

"Maki." Tora said, a little surprised but not showing it. Instead, he stretched back in his leather seat and crossed one long leg over the other, the folds of his white uniform flashing in the fading sunlight coming from the window behind his desk.

The other young man bowed, and when he rose up his smile disappeared. He knew something Tora didn't and he knew that Tora wouldn't like it- this, Tora could see all over his face. His golden eyes narrowed but he did not frown, or show any emotion. He simply sat back and waited for the information to spill.

"President, I'm afraid I have some unpleasant news." The Vice President said, standing still as a statue, his voice polite and light despite the bad news he had swarming in his head.

"Alright, tell me." Tora said, staring expectantly at the other young man.

He watched Kanade take a deep breath.

"Well, I would guess that you are still interested in that- prize- of yours?"

"You can't call it mine quite yet, since I haven't won her over. But yes, I'm still deeply interested. Actually," Tora smirked as he stared to the side a little bit, his gaze leaving the other boy's. "even more so recently..."

"Well, I've done some researching like you asked. Though, you already know about her family situation, correct?"

"What, with her mother dead and her father being... the way that he is?" Tora asked nonchalantly.

"Yes, so you are aware. But, I have some new information from my team that you might want to look into."

"What is it?"

"There are other young men involved."

Tora remained stoic with a passive, uninterested look on his face. However, his hands that had been resting along with his arms on the arm rests of his chair, suddenly clenched, gripping at the fabric and whitening his knuckles.

"I see."

"Should I, tell you more?"

"Go ahead."

"Well, apparently there were a few suitors in the past, but that's not what you should have to be concerned with anymore."

"Get on with the point."

"Recent information shows that she's been casually seeing other young men in your absence."

Tora snorted derisively. It was just past the middle of the week now, Thursday, and she hadn't talked to him since Saturday when he had had her confined to her room. How many young men could a woman seduce in that much time? Especially when all she did was attend school.

"Casually?" Was all Tora said, quirking a brow and examining the far clock on the wall. It was getting later into the evening, Akari's school was probably out, even the after school clubs, by now, as his was. Tora had stayed afterwards for a long while in his office in order to catch up on his work. The clock read 5:00 exactly.

"Yes, as in, merely engaging in simple activities with them. Sometimes with another girl there as well."

"Who knows if it's as casual as you suggest? They could very well be double dates."

"...I suppose so. Might I ask, is this bothering you at all?"

Tora flashed a haughty, obstinate look at Maki.

"Do you want me to be bothered by it?"

"Of course not. I was just expecting some sort of reaction from you."

Tora suddenly stood from his chair, and walked around the desk, clasping his hands behind his back as he walked about the large room, pondering to himself silently. Maki stayed still where he was, but his head turned to watch Tora with a perplexed look.

"If," Tora started, his hand reaching up as he stopped walking and stood still in front of a small picture nailed into the wall at eye level. The hand reaching up glanced across the surface of the picture- a picture of a girl dressed up in elegant attire, her cinnamon-colored hair pulled into complicated style of braids and curls, her silver eyes flashing kindly into the camera with a hidden look of uneasiness behind them, the look of an animal trapped in a cage. Trapped in a place that she secretly didn't want to be. As his fingertips flew across the face in the picture, he continued to talk. "If, she is interested in someone else, then we'll just have to get him out of the way."

As he stared at the picture and Maki remained silent behind him, Tora thought back to when the picture pinned into the wall used to be one of Misaki in her maid latte outfit, instead of one of Akari in her elegant attire. Again, how had he gotten over one girl and started chasing after the next so easily? Was it the defeat in realizing he simply had lost completely to the Walker Prince, or was it that Akari, like everyone else she affected with her charm, made Tora feel real for once?

* * *

"Thanks." Akari said, grabbing the hot beverage out of Kanou's hands as he handed it to her.

School had been absolutely boring today. Nothing interesting had happened, classes were surprisingly quiet, as Aika was absent and Seiji was, once again, back to being Seiji (THANK GOD). So she hadn't had a melodramatic girlfriend to talk to, and she hadn't had an overly-perverted Kai to chase her around. Though the thought was pleasant, the complete boring-ness that resulted from the lack of drama had really gotten to Akari. Hanging out with the real Seiji for once seemed to be the only plus to it, but he had after school clubs to attend, so she'd expected to go home and be even more bored than before.

Kanou had somehow noticed it, her unpleasant aura had probably given it away, and he had politely offered that they take a nice walk to the park nearby their school together, which then resulted in him buying her some hot chocolate from the shop across the street. Even though it was cold outside, it was bearable weather, with no freezing ice winds and no snow falling from the sky. In fact, the sun was beating down on them in a comfortable way, and the fallen snow was melting slightly as a side effect of the heat.

"Hmm." Kanou responded, and took a seat beside her on a separate swing.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Akari asked, taking a sip of the burning drink. This resulted in Kanou warning her too late and her burning the tip of her tongue.

"Um, you can really talk about whatever you want. I'll just listen."

"No, I was taught better than that. How about- tell me about your life."

"My, life? There's not much to really say..."

"Your past? Your family?"

Kanou went thoughtfully silent for a moment. The sunlight glinted off of his glasses, creating a sheen so that she couldn't quite see his eyes anymore.

"I..."

"How about, I'll start. But you have to agree to tell me some things about yourself when I finish."

Kanou nodded, and then, for a moment before she started to talk, he looked as if he wanted to say something.

"Just so you know, I already know about you... living with the Igarashis."

She stared at him, and he took a sip of his own hot chocolate as she did so.

"Er, how?"

"Not to sound creepy, but I'm pretty observant."

"I'm not creeped out, just surprised is all."

"Oh. Good."

"Well, is that all you know?"

He gave her a look, and a nod. Then he took another sip of his beverage. She wondered how he wasn't burning his tongue like she did.

"Well, I come from a wealthy family. I guess I'll just tell you about my family? My mother's- dead... And uh, I'm not an only child, but I kind of count myself as one."

"How many siblings do you have?"

"Oh, just, one. An older brother. Well, technically, he's my half-sibling. He's only related to me through my father."

"Just your father?"

"My uh- my father was a good man. He never had an affair, in fact, he was very loyal to my mother when she was alive- his favorite person was her, and only her. I'm not all that important to him. Anyway, he found out he had another kid before he married my mother. The mother of that kid died, and so, when my father found out he kind of took him into our family. My half brother was always so much better at being rich and elegant than I was... he warmed up to it fast."

"How old is he?"

"Oh, Hayate is... twenty now. Not much older than me."

"And so, you said you don't really get along with him?"

Akari looked down at the ground sadly, and shivered, but not because of the cold, no, not at all. It was for an entirely different reason.

"Another thing," Kanou said, and she was glad that he was bypassing the other question. "You said your father _was _a good man. But, he's not dead."

"Wow, once you get into a conversation with someone, you really don't stop do you?" Akari mumbled to herself, taking a sip of her drink and then drawing back when she burned her tongue again. Dammit that hurt!

"My father was a good man. He is still alive. All I'm saying is, he's turned out to, not really be a good man anymore." She pulled her scarf down and scratched at her neck nervously, and then pulled back sharply when she realized how sensitive to the touch it was still. Kanou took notice as well.

"What happened... to your neck?"

"Take a lucky guess." She grumbled, pulling her scarf back up to conceal all the marks.

"Oh. That's... hmf." He almost sounded angry, but instead he seemed to settle for uncomfortable and swung his seat a little away from hers.

"I'm not that easy to hurt, you know. I've put up with worse things than being sexually taunted. I'm stronger than I appear!" She said, her tone growing in it's urgency for him to understand.

"Worse?" Kanou looked horrified.

"You know, I've said some stuff. Now it's your turn. Why are you so scared of girls?"

"I don't want to hurt them."

"How can you live in fear of hurting them, how did that even start?"

"My father's an ex-pro wrestler." He said out of the blue.

"...Um, alright."

"When I was little, he beat my mother."

Akari opened her mouth in silent shock. She was unsure of where to go from here, after she'd pushed him towards talking about it.

Kanou sighed.

"When I was four she left us, me and my father. She was sick of him treating her like that. But I was too little to really understand. My father told me, he said, that nobody can be around women, because they're so fragile that you have to keep away. That's why... I've always kept my distance, and I've always been afraid, because I thought that if my dad could break my mother, then I could just as easily break any other girl. I was taught they're fragile... so fragile it's unsettling, and that it's dangerous to interact with them."

He stopped, taking a sip from his steaming cup. Apparently, he was done after that, because he said nothing more and the park was slowly filled with the silence of the fading afternoon.

"Sorry I asked you to say all that."

"You didn't ask me to say all of that. I just told you. You only asked for one simple answer, I gave you the whole back story. I guess, I should be sorry."

"No, if you want, we can equal it out. I'll tell you about my past, too."

He glanced at her, the sheen in his glasses disappearing as the sun dipped at a lower angle in the sky. His large eyes were open and ready to receive her words, so she began.

"My father was emotionally abusive to me. My half brother was... physically, abusive towards me."

Kanou said nothing.

"I didn't like it when my father's company started up, and we suddenly became very rich. That happened when I was around ten years old. After we first moved into our mansion and I started having elegance and rules shoved down my throat, I became very... er, stiff. I greeted our guests too harshly and started giving my father a hard time. He would yell at me so much that I was often surprised he never once lost his voice. Both he and I knew my mother would never stand for that, and that she would leave him if she found out how he treated me, so when I was twelve and my half-brother first moved in and became apart of our family, my father, after yelling at me, would have Hayate threaten me, so that I wouldn't tell my mother what was going on."

Akari took a deep breath as images of herself at twelve years old, and Hayate at fifteen, began to flood her mind. Old memories of her defiant nature causing her to snap back at him when he warned her about telling her mother, and then him smacking her across the face. He only hit her when she was stubborn and resistant, which was, well, most of the time. For a moment, Akari felt she may pass out, but then realized Kanou was watching her and that would probably freak him out, so she got a grip and continued.

"Anyway, that continued for years. At some point, my mother, though oblivious to how I was being treated behind the scenes, got sick of the rules and the fame and the fortune. She had always been a hard-working, earnest woman who wasn't very materialistic like my father had become. She would always teach me that I could chose between staying in the family, when I was older, or leaving and becoming simple and ordinary again. She said if she were me, she would chose the latter. Though she could never leave my father, she loved him so much despite his new-found greediness, so she and I stayed with him. I gradually started controlling my behavior, so that I wouldn't be yelled at and hit, but when I started to behave a little too well, by that time I was fifteen, just a couple years ago, and Hayate had grown into a strong, unpleasant young man. He was eighteen, known as a fine bachelor, though he's honestly not all that attractive, he knows how to be charming. But when I started to outshine him, as he put it, he started to beat me up just for doing what I was supposed to, smiling, waving, posing for pictures in fancy outfits, all the like. So I'd get screamed at and beat up for defying them, and beat up for listening to them."

"Akari, you can stop now-"

"And then my mother died."

"Akari-san..."

"That was I think a few months ago now... it seems like it's been longer."

"You really don't have to-"

"Anyway," She suddenly perked up, smiling at Kanou the best she could. "On a lighter note, I'm happy right now in this moment and that's all that matters."

Kanou was silent for a little bit. She thought she might have been too lost in her memories and taken it too far, but then he stared at her and gave her a small smile as well.

"I'm glad you're okay now."

Akari felt unnecessary heat rush to her cheeks, and then she looked away and took a sip of her drink. For once, she didn't burn herself as she swallowed it with a delicious slurp.

"Enough of this seriousness," She said, standing from the swing as Kanou stared at her, his long legs spread out far in front of him as he rocked slowly back an forth. She stretched and watched him out of the corner of his eye as he spoke.

"I'm amazed by your grit. You're unlike any girl I've ever encountered..." Kanou looked down at his feet dug into the wet wood chips, kicking aside some of the frozen ones with a shoe. "You've been through so much..."

Suddenly, he was sent backwards, falling into a snowbank that was just behind his swing. He collapsed into the soft powder with a surprised grunt as his glasses slipped off, his half-drunk beverage spilling out over the wood chips as he dropped the cup.

"You're so serious. And you aren't very care free- it's like you think over your words too much, calculating them like a math problem, before you say anything."

Akari stood just beside his swing, and then she noticed his glasses that had slipped into the snow and reached for them right as he did. Their hands brushed, and she looked at him closely for a moment. As if afraid, he pulled his hand away and sat up abruptly, shaking out his damp hair and gently taking his glasses from her and putting them back on. After that he just sat there, staring up at her, almost curiously.

"Still afraid of me?" Akari asked, smirking slightly at his reactions.

And then Kanou started chuckling. His laughter started to increase, dark and somehow still serious, though it sounded happy enough. He threw back his head, his eyes squinted shut, and just had a small moment to laugh, wiping at his bangs and shaking his head, smiling softly to himself.

"You know, you don't scare me at all." He said, standing up and suddenly towering over her.

Akari took a split second of a moment to realize just what type of build he had. He was tall and he was muscular. Not overly muscular, but not exactly completely lean. Well, now she knew that he was the son of an ex-pro wrestler though. So maybe it was just the genetics from his father. But he made her feel very small, standing before her like that.

Suddenly, he became shy again, and looked away for a moment. Then he looked back down at her and barely, just barely, held out his arms. He inched closer and she wasn't sure what he wanted until her face was in his jacket and he was holding her close, but not too close, like some sort of test hug.

"You didn't have to push me off of my swing to prove something." He said pointedly. She shoved him a little, and he pulled back from the slight embrace to look down at her again.

"I was trying to get you to loosen up a bit. And anyway, we were talking about some serious things."

"Did it make you feel uncomfortable?"

"...Of course it did. But I wanted to say something. It's good to tell someone."

"Yeah, I guess so." He said, looking up at the sky and nodding his head in agreement.

"Akari."

Both she and Kanou jumped a little bit, though Kanou didn't really act surprised by the third voice that joined them. As Akari turned her head, just a few feet in front of her, she saw Tora standing with his hands in his coat pockets and his eyes sharply glinting in the fading afternoon light.

* * *

As Tora stared watching the two interact, he suddenly remembered what it all felt like.

It was just like watching Misaki with Usui.

First, Tora was getting involved for the reactions from the girl, maybe for the rivalry as well. Then, he became fairly interested with the girl, and just wanted to see if it would be easy to win her over like he could with all other women. The whole time, of course, he had wanted to have sex with said girl. It was all just for fun- fun and games, because he got bored too easily, he needed something different, some excitement.

And then something had gone and changed, Misaki had chose differently, she didn't want his money or himself. She wanted to stay at Seika with her precious prince and her simple friends. And then after that, Usui had left the country, and Misaki had come to him, Tora, for help. And he shouldn't have helped her, but he did anyway. And he taught her how to act properly, he laughed at her, he danced with her, he fell for her. He even confessed to her while they were in Europe. And of course, she chose the Walker boy over him. Then set in the slight pain and confusion, the puzzlement at what he was feeling, the resentment towards Takumi... and he wanted to make the other boy feel the same. So he had kissed her, in front of him, and finally got to see that resentful face of the other blonde's... though even after that, it wasn't enough. He felt restless, he couldn't be satisfied with just any woman...

And it was all coming back to him now, in this moment, as he watched the taller boy embrace Akari, watched them pull apart, speaking comfortably with each other.

What was this returning feeling?

"Akari."

The two in front of him jolted, though the boy looked unusually calm and stayed very quiet. He was strangely observant as he watched Akari's reaction to Tora's sudden presence.

"What... the... why are_ you_ here?" The girl demanded, her face scrunching up in dissatisfaction.

Tora could have laughed right then, and he wanted to. He wanted to just laugh at her childish, girlish face. How could a girl act so tough and be so, well, for lack of a better word, _cute_.

"I'm picking you up. Your driver told me you'd be here."

"Well I don't want to be picked up by you. Go get my driver for me."

Tora scoffed.

"Now, that's hardly fair. I came all this way, and I was busy with work, too."

Tora thought back to what he had done back at the school and felt a sudden pang of guilt. He had been discussing matters about Akari with Maki, and he had lost his temper...

_"Instead of going to the trouble of getting other men out of the way, why not forget her?"_

_Tora's hand stopped stroking the picture on the wall. He seemed to be frozen for a moment, and then slowly, his hand fell down and rested at his side. His back was still turned to Maki, so the Vice President couldn't see the dark look that shadowed Tora's face. _

_"Forget her?" The blonde said, his tone lost of all meaning. _

_"Yes. From an outsider's point of view, I'd say these things tend to tear at you a little. You're losing your focus again, just like you did while pursuing that maid. You can't do your work properly, and you're never happy anymore."_

_"Perhaps I was never quite happy to begin with, Kanade." _

_Maki made a surprised noise, his eyebrows lifting as Tora turned around and faced him. Tora stood up tall, his shoulders squared and stiff, and his face raised to level with the other boy's. It was a face so serious, anyone would have run away. But Maki stayed where he was, as all he was trying to to was help his President and wanted to snap the sense back into him- even if it meant facing his an Igarashi's wrath._

_"I'm never satisfied." Tora continued, standing as still as the four walls around them. "I can never be satisfied, because I don't fully know what satisfaction is. I'm the most eligible bachelor in the country, and I'm unsatisfied. What does that tell you?"_

_"That you... are missing something, President?"_

_"I have endless access to money, woman flanking me right and left, a big expensive home and all the elegant, beautiful things I could want. How could I possibly be missing something?"_

_"I'm unsure of what it could be, myself."_

_"Well then you're just like everyone else." Tora snapped suddenly._

_Maki lowered his head slightly. He didn't want to push Tora over the edge, but it would seem he had stepped out of line._

_"Nobody understands-" Tora turned around, unable to face the other boy anymore. How many disappointed faces had he seen? People afraid of him, intimidated, put down by his actions and his words. He didn't want to see it. _

_"I apologize for my misunderstanding of everything, but all I wanted to tell you is that a simple girl isn't worth-"_

_Kanade was cut off when Tora slammed his fist into the wall next to him, hard, making almost the entire room shake from the force. _

_"Get out."_

"You can't expect me to go with you!"

Tora shook his head, coming back to reality. He stared at the girl standing across from him for a moment, and then, realizing her words, shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"You need to. It's getting late."

"Akari, maybe you should just go home."

Tora looked up at the other boy, but he was looking down at Akari. Was this one of the boys Maki had been talking about? Tora had pictured the multi-personality blonde, not... whoever this was supposed to be.

"I- he..." Akari looked down at her feet, and then suddenly she looked back up and marched past Tora. "Hmf."

It was an unexpected move that no one was prepared for, but then again, Tora had to remind himself that this _was _Akari. He stood still for a moment, turning slightly to watch her stalking quickly towards the limo settled at the street, and then there was an uncomfortable clearing of someone's voice, and he turned back to eye the boy still standing in front of him.

"Uh, so..."

Tora sneered at the boy.

"I would stay and introduce myself, but I have to escort a lady back to my home." He said, sizing up the boy in front of him, with a competitive look in his eye.

The other boy stayed silent, just blinking at him behind his glasses. Tora, completely uninterested in the fool, turned on his heel and headed back to the limo himself, his long legs getting himself to the door to open it right as Akari was reaching for the handle.

"Hey-"

"I was brought up as a gentleman and as lady you have no write to refuse my gestures." He said stiffly.

Akari shot him a resistant look, but got into the car as he opened the door for her anyway.

Tora smiled in his head, but it didn't quite reach his face as he sat down, once again, across from her in the nice leather seats. She turned her head away, avoiding his gaze. A cup sat in her hands, hot air rising from it and making the car smell like chocolate and sugar.

"I'm still furious with you."

Tora stared from the cup to her face, watching as she met his eyes. He almost wanted to reach forward and force her into a kiss, (though that would, at the time, just make her hate him more) her cheeks were flushed pink, her hair lightly cupping her face, and her silver eyes were shiny and bright, the pupils slightly enlarged, probably from the dim atmosphere in the car and the sugar she's been drinking. She was giving him a defiant look, but that was one of the best ways she could stare at him.

"I'm well aware."

"Well, do something already so I can forgive you!"

Her eyes were looking at him with only accusation, and yet, just behind that, he could swear he could see something else.

"I've already tried to apologize-"

"Really. Sending flowers to my room is not the same as an apology."

Tora thought back to yesterday, Wednesday, when he had finally gotten too sick of her attitude, and sent her a polite gesture with a card and some roses. Now that he really thought about it, most women would be pleasantly surprised, even Misaki would, as she didn't receive things so elegant because she didn't come from a rich family. But Akari lived part of her life being rich, and she's probably accepted too many bouquets to count. It was only obvious she'd be unimpressed.

"You really want me to swallow my pride and say something so stripping of power?"

Her gaze was steady and it didn't let him look away. She didn't say a word, as the answer was all too obvious. Tora sighed to himself, rolling his eyes, and then his golden eyes found her silver ones again. He gave her a steady look.

"Akari. I apologize wholeheartedly for my unpleasant and ungentlemanly behavior. Please accept my apology, as I wasn't in my right mind to have unsettled such a beautiful young woman."

Her gaze didn't lighten, and then he was promptly taken aback when she glared, and sharply looked away from him, as if disgusted.

"What?!"

"That's an overused line if I've ever heard one! Do you think I'm some sort of idiot? That may work on most other women, but only a fool would try that memorized apology on someone like me."

Tora was just about ready to jump out of the car. The nerve of this girl! What was her problem, couldn't she just accept an apology and forget about what he did? It's not like it was all that hard to do!

"Act more like a woman. You're acting like a child." He said, leaning back in his seat and crossing one leg over the other.

"Take a look at yourself!" She said, eyeing how he folded his arms and turned his face away, almost in a pout.

"Grr... alright!" Tora sat up, catching her attention when he grabbed her free hand in both of his, and scooted forward on his seat so that he was looking closely straight into her eyes.

"N-nani?!"

"I'm sorry," He started, staring deeply into her eyes with the sincerest look he could muster. Suddenly, an image flew into his mind of her helping him on the night his mother collapsed, her reassuring him, holding his hand. Another image, of her face when he had danced around with her, and just before that, when she had cared enough to wrap up the cut on his hand for him. He wanted to see _that _face again, not her angry at him or resentful of him like she was now.

"Are- are you actually-"

"I'm sorry, Akari." Tora said firmly, though his tone held some sort of softness to it as he remembered what she had done for him, the kind acts that she never had to do. "I know I've upset you. I know I shouldn't have just taken charge and locked you in your room like I did. Now that I think of it, I'm..." He looked away suddenly, trying to swallow his pride. "Ashamed."

That was all she got from him. Letting go of her hand and pulling back just as quickly, he leaned back in his seat and looked out the window, his mouth set in a firm line as he tried to put a bored, uninterested look in his eyes in order to save some of his ego from it's downfall after that type of apology. His tongue felt strange, like the words he had said were so foreign that they had burned him.

"Igarashi..."

He just stared out the window, determined to stay like that for the rest of the ride. Whenever he did choose to act humane, he preferred that people didn't realize it. Just like when he had offered Kanade a place to put his butler cafe.

"Tora."

Tora made a slightly surprised noise, his eyes widening and his mouth opening slightly as he felt something cold brush against him. He turned his face back to the girl sitting in front of him, and noticed that she was looking down, her hand touching his knee as she leaned forward slightly. She caught his eye as she slowly turned her head up to look at him, and he saw her smiling- just barely- but it was still a smile.

"I accept your apology."

_There _was that face. That soft, caring look. Tora felt blood rush up his neck and around his ears as they locked eyes for that moment, his eyes wide and shocked, and hers accepting and bright as her smile widened a little.

He was quick to look away sharply, jerking his knee away and crossing his legs again, getting rid of her touch. His face still pinkening slightly, he stared hard back out the window, trying to ignore the way she shook her head and leaned back in her own seat.

After awhile of silence, he glanced back at her. Her scarf had slipped down a little bit, and again he caught sight of those fading marks on her skin. Blood rushed to his face again, but this time it was for a whole different reason. He grit his teeth and an image of the blonde attacking her in front of his mansion came to mind. Then an image of her with that glasses boy popped into his head right after that, and he clenched his fists, his grip tightening on the fabric of his shirt sleeves.

What was this feeling?

Oh, and it felt like misery.

* * *

**A/N: I love my viewers~ if you reviewed my story I'd SUPER love you though!**

**warning: lemon chapter coming up! **

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	12. Father Sends An Overzealous Messenger

**A/N: ****I have nothing to tell you guys. ****I'll just let you enjoy the chapter now. :3 hehehe... you don't know what's coming...**

**Yeah, that got you excited, huh? Now you're gonna read full-speed-ahead, I teased you into freaking out. Hey, here's a warning that'll make your eyes pop out-**

_**WARNING: **_**Beware of the smut in this chapter! It gets pretty smutty. Well, not THAT much. But it does. I'm confusing you? Good.**

* * *

******Chapter Twelve. Father Sends An Overzealous Messenger**

Another uneventful day of school kept Akari pleasantly indulging in the fact that it was a Friday, and once school was out, she could do whatever she wanted for the weekend. Which meant, eating, napping, and maybe hanging out with her friends if she didn't feel too lazy. Oh, and she'd also have to start up on that math homework, she supposed, as well.

"I'll see you later." She patted Yukimura on the head, ruffling his hair playfully, and he just blushed and blurted a quick "Good bye." while Kanou nodded his head to her quietly.

She then turned to wave back at Aika and Seiji- they were headed down the hall to go to their after school club together. They waved back, and then continued in whatever conversation they were involved in with each other.

Walking outside, the sudden chill in the air caused Akari to wrap her coat tighter around herself. The wind had picked up, and the windows had been shaking a little bit while they were in class. She scuttled hurriedly past the other students, trying desperately to keep her warm hood down around her ears, though it kept blowing backwards because of the icy wind. Her ears were red by the time she got to the limo, and she hurried into the backseat before the wind could tear off her scarf and everyone could see the faded pink marks that still covered her neck. They weren't all that visible anymore, they were actually barely even there now, but she didn't want to take any chances. She'd been wearing the same scarf for the past week now, and she wasn't going to take if off in public until there was absolutely nothing left of Kai's sadistic attack.

When she settled herself comfortably in the car, she really wasn't expecting to look up and see the face of a stranger staring right at her. As the door slammed shut beside her, she screamed.

"Calm down, Miss Michiyo." The young man said in a controlled, slick sort of voice.

"Oh, of course I'll calm down when a strange man asks me to!" She breathed heavily, scooting to the furthest place away from him in the car. She tried to unlock the door, but the automatic lock had set in as the car started to drive away. She glared at the man- how had he managed to get a ride in the car that picked her up from school? Did the Igarashi's know about this?

"I work for your father." The man suddenly said, trying to make her relax.

If anything, those words gave her more of a reason to feel uneasy about him. She slowly scooted back to her original seat across from him though, and folded her hands politely in her lap after smoothing her skirt like a lady.

"Did he send you to give me cardiac arrest?" She asked, in all seriousness.

The man laughed, a low drone that made her feel on edge. She watched him through narrowed eyes. His hair was dark brown and combed back elegantly, he was sharply dressed in a grey business suit and black tie, and he folded his hands in that business-demeanor way that all men who worked for large companies did. His slim black eyes glinted at her like dark diamonds. He looked to be in his mid-twenties or so.

"No, and I would like to immediately apologize for frightening the daughter of my employer. Forgive me, I had assumed you knew I was coming."

"This isn't my car, is it?"

He laughed again, and then abruptly stopped and caught her eye.

"No, it would be mine. I made it clear to your driver that he could take today off."

"Do the Igara-

"Sorry to interrupt, but let me just explain. I was sent by your father to speak with you today, he called me when I was already in this area, coming back from a meeting. He told me that it would be fine if I just picked you up from school. I originally went to Miyabigaoka, but," He gave her a puzzled look. "After talking with their Student Council President, the young Mr. Igarashi himself, I was informed that you now attending this school."

"Yes, that was planned by him at the last minute."

His gaze sharpened on her.

"Your father doesn't know, does he? I would assume not, because he sent me to Miyabigaoka."

"I do not know all the details. You will have to speak with Miyabigaoka's President once again."

"I see. Well, after talking with him, he told me that he would call your driver and excuse him for the day, so that I may pick you up."

"I understand, but what are you here to talk to me for?"

"We shall discuss that at a later time." The man leaned back in his seat, making himself obviously comfortable. Well, it was his limo. "By the way, I should introduce myself. My name is Kichiro Ikehara. You can call me Mr. Ikehara."

"Where are we going?"

The man suddenly 'tsked' her, shaking his head.

"Being away from the estate has made less of a lady out of you, Miss. You should address your father's underlings properly."

"I apologize, Mr. Ikehara. Where are we going to discuss whatever matters I need to be made aware of?" Akari wanted to puke from the sweetly sick tone that she used. She used to talk like this all the time- how had she endured it for half her life? She was suddenly very grateful for living with the Igarashi's.

"Since the drive to the estate will take much too long, and it would be pointless to go there anyway because I was only sent to have a little chat with you, I've arranged for us to talk at the Igarashi estate."

"And you've spoken with-"

"Pardon me for interrupting once again, but the only person I've spoken with is the young bachelor Igarashi. Mr. Igarashi himself is busily booked with many meetings today, and it has been raised to my attention that the woman of the house is ill."

"So, Tora is okay with this little meeting?"

The man shook his head slightly, leaning back in his seat even more.

"Ah, he seemed just the same as ever. He didn't object."

_Has he met Tora before? I wonder what he meant by that..._

"Alright. I suppose I have no choice but to agree to this?"

His sharp eyes found hers, and she squirmed slightly in her seat. She wasn't sure about this character...

"I can assure you that you have no reason to disagree. By the end of our meeting, you'll be feeling quite-" He paused looking to his right and stifling a tiny laugh that was trying to push past his lips. "Pleasurable."

Akari shrunk back in her seat. Pleasurable? What does that mean? And what was so funny?

* * *

Tora watched as the man stepped into his home with Akari, his hand placed low on the girl's back. A muscle in his face twitched unpleasantly, but other than that, he greeted the young man with a cordial smile, and had the servants take both his and Akari's coats.

"It's nice seeing you again so soon, Kichiro-kun." Tora said, bowing slightly. As he rose, he caught Akari's eye- she looked both confused and uncomfortable. Had something happened in the car? Knowing Kichiro...

"Ah, Tora-kun, likewise." The young man merely glimpsed at Tora though, and his hand reached up and wrapped itself at random around Akari's upper arm.

"Huh?" The girl looked up as Tora stood in front of them, watching the interaction take place.

"Shouldn't you be taking off that scarf? It's much warmer in here." The other man said.

Tora looked at the girl, who had her coat off but was now just wearing her school uniform, a sweater, and a scarf. It didn't quite fit in to the house's warm atmosphere.

"Oh. Right, I should just..." Slowly, and with a hidden scowl on her face, she peeled the scarf off of her neck.

Tora could see the faint markings where lips and teeth had been, still plastered onto her white skin like that, and a feeling of discomfort spread from his head to his toes. Meanwhile, the business man beside the two gasped rather audibly.

"My, my, what happened to your neck, Miss Michiyo?"

"Something unimportant. If you knew what happened the knowledge would certainly be of no good use to you."

Tora blinked, taken aback by Akari's official and lady-like tone. He had never witnessed her speak like this. It was the rehearsed tone of someone who had spent years talking like that, and new exactly what to say. Nothing like how she would normally speak to him.

Mr. Ikehara smirked a moment, and then nodded his head in defeat.

"Shall we talk in the parlor?"

"Feel free to talk where ever you like, make yourself comfortable." Tora said, smiling again. He realized Akari's eyes were on him, giving him a fierce, knowing sort of look, as if she alone could see right through his fake and pleasant facade. He ignored her and continued his role of the polite and gentlemanly host.

"I'm much obliged, Mr. Igarashi, Thank you."

And with those words, Tora watched with a suspicious gaze as the older man half-dragged, half-escorted Akari into the next room.

* * *

"My- my father wants me back home?!" Akari couldn't help it, she blurted it out without any thoughts on how 'lady-like' she sounded.

"If you continue on living here, the press will continue to ask questions."

She thought back to what he had told her. Her mother's death had caused enough of a riot for Akari to go her own way without the press going into a ruckus about it, but now they had finally noted her absence at the parties and the meetings. People were whispering gossip, and though no one knew she was living with the Igarashi's, it was only a matter of time. She didn't see why it was so bad if the press found out, it wasn't a big deal that Mrs. Igarashi was actually her godmother and indebted to her care, but apparently, something wasn't right with the situation.

Akari huffed shaking her head.

"This is really ridiculous. My mother told me that I could chose where I wanted to go when I was older."

"You are still only seventeen, Miss."

"I'll be eighteen soon enough! Besides, I don't think my living back at the estate will make anything better. Things will just go back to the way they always were."

"Your brother tells me that you've always been a trouble maker for the family."

Akari froze suddenly. Hayate...

"I'm a good friend of his." Mr. Ikehara smirked, seeing her expression of fear.

"That's..."

"So yes, knowing you, it wouldn't exactly be the best idea for you to go back to the estate. However, what's worse is the way things are going now- because of your disappearance, people are starting to assume that your father isn't the nice man that we all know he is."

Akari blinked. Of course her father isn't a nice man! Not like when he was before he became rich...

"Erm. That's absurd..." It wasn't absurd.

"Well, your mother died, and then you disappeared. People are thinking the truth- the only reason you stayed apart of that family was for your mother's sake."

"Are there still the rumors about my father's... problem?"

"The fact that he's emotionally abusive isn't just a rumor. Like I just said, it's a fact. And apparently, the same person who mentioned hearing all of the shouting, also mentioned that the shouting stopped as soon as you left the home. Your father's good reputation is steadily decreasing and becoming soiled."

"So I'm supposed to come home and be his puppet again?" She sounded enraged and the man was now laughing sadly at her sudden response.

"Do not get angry with me. I'm simply the messenger. And all your father wants for now is for you to come to the estate. It may not have to be permanent- perhaps you can have a talk with him about it. He might listen to you or..." He gave her a strange knowing look, and she knew what he was thinking.

But of course, her father would yell at her. He'd refuse to accept her demands.

"It doesn't matter anyway though," The man said, smoothing a hand over his hair and standing up suddenly. "if you go back now or not. Because in the future, when you really are older, you won't have any choice but to go back."

Akari got to her feet as well. She was slowly losing her patience. He was acting polite, and yet, his facial expressions were almost... deceitful. And taunting. But she knew she really shouldn't be mad at him- like he said, he really was just the messenger, the bringer of bad news. He was under the control of her father, and it was her father who deserved her anger, not this man.

"What do you mean?" Akari sighed, thinking it might just be-

"Marriage. You will most likely be put into an arranged marriage in order to merge your father's company with another successful company."

"Alright. Thank you for the information. You can tell my father that if he wants me back, he can come get me himself." She said determinedly, coming to stand next to him and urging him towards the closed parlor doors.

"Is that your final answer?"

"Yes. If he wants to see his daughter, he can make the effort himself. If he needs me so badly, then he can only prove it by personally trying to fix things between us. He should have asked this favor himself."

"I'd rather think it's more of a demand than him asking your permission..."

"Not how I see it."

Akari was in front of him now, opening the doors and stepping out into the hall.

The man grabbed her arm suddenly, making her spin around and look his way.

"Wait- there's something else. Is there a place where no one will bother us?"

She blinked uncertainly at him.

"...Why?"

"Your father wished for me to rely certain specific information to you, things he said can't be overheard by anyone." His eyes shifted in a strange way as she listened to him finish. "Things no one else is to hear, he told me very distinctly..."

Akari sighed. What was it now? Hadn't she just told him that she'd rather her father himself tell her whatever important things he had to?

But then again, the sooner Mr. Ikehara got out of here, the better. She was sick of talking about her father and her old life, but if there was just one thing left for him to tell her...

Her head swarming with the unpleasant thought of her father consistently sending associate after associate to rely messages to her if the first one he'd sent didn't get to finish his job, Akari made up her mind.

"One last thing? Then you'll leave me alone to enjoy my weekend?"

"Of course. I'm just here to do rely information, and then I will leave."

"...Well if you're so worried about the parlor not being private enough, I suppose there's my room. We can sit on the couches and talk, so it won't be uncomfortable if this will take much longer."

He nodded, a smile on his face.

"Oh trust me, this won't take up that much more of your time."

She nodded, her head feeling heavy with thoughts of her father and half brother, and he let go of her arm, following her gesture for him to walk behind her as she maneuvered through the house, passing doors and staircases and fancy statues, until, finally, they arrived upon her room. She opened the door and he followed her in without her having to invite him.

As she walked into the room, she suddenly realized how late it was by the dark light coming in through the windows. She turned around to find the light switch in her room, but they were hidden behind the wall that Mr. Ikehara was standing in front of.

"Oh, excuse me, you're standing in front of the light switch." The man didn't make a move. "Um, are you waiting to be ordered to do something? I'm sorry, I'm not my father so you don't have to worry about that. Just take a seat on the couch, please, and we can continue with our talk."

In a sudden move, as soon as she finished talking he had grabbed her arm again, but this time he had a much harder grip on her and his eyes were glinting evilly in the darkness. His face neared hers, as did his body as he brought her close, too close, and then he seemed to talk in a growl that was not his usual business tone from before.

"You're just as ravishing as your mother."

Her eyes widened as she wondered what the hell was going on here.

"My- my mother? Is what you have to tell me about my mother?"

"No, I don't have to tell you anything anymore. I've done what I came here to do." He smiled and brought her even closer, pressing his lips to her ear as he whispered; "And now I'm going to reward myself."

Akari suddenly realized what was going on, and the sound that started in the back of her voice ended when he pushed her off of him and stood around behind her, pressing his arm into her mouth while his hand gripped her waist and backed her, with him, across the room while she struggled.

To her surprise, they ended up in the bathroom as he shut and locked the door behind them, and then stalked over to the shower, his grip still on her as he turned it on and the sound of water on marble erupted in the echoing room.

"Now that idiot Tora won't hear us..."

She again tried to get free of his grip, and managed to reach up and unlock the door before he pulled her back harshly, and re-locked it once again. Then, without her consent, his hands were all over her, brushing her _here_, touching her _there_, it was an awful experience for Akari, for she had never been handled in such a way before. Sure, the boys at school sometimes gave her predatory looks, and Tora had certainly been 'playful' before with her, and Kai had even tried something like this with her too, and her other experiences like this had happened forcefully as well, but none of those experiences had been _this _forceful. They were all boys, and though they were strong, they had young minds. None of them would actually, you know, _rape _her. They weren't those kind of young men, she didn't think.

But the guy handling her now was a man. A greedy, dirty, overly-perverted, MAN, who obviously lacked control over his male urges. How could she be so stupid? How did this even happen? And it all happened so fast too. She thought it sounded reasonable enough for him to want to discuss things in all privacy, but... her thoughts had been too clouded, he had caught her at a bad time. What an idiot she was, offering to take him to her own room! She was so stupid-

"Ah!" She suddenly exclaimed, his hands and mouth distracting her from her thoughts as she realized he'd pushed down the sleeves of her shirt and now had it hanging half-off of her, her bra in plain site, with his hand that wasn't holding both her wrists pulled underneath her bra's fabric, squeezing her nipple, and his mouth sucking at her neck ferociously.

No, she had NEVER been handled in such a way. Tora would be firm, not harsh, he would withhold himself, prolong it, and Kai would have gotten distracted and loosened his grip on her, so that she could have the chance to smack him off of her. But this guy- this man- was harsh, quick, and not even trying to make it easy for her. He didn't let go, and she found herself being pushed away, her shirt coming over her head, and then being pushed back into the wall behind her as steam started to mist it's way through the air, coming from the wasted water in the shower.

"Stop it!" She growled, and then he bit down onto her neck, and her voice faded as she whimpered at the feeling.

"You're so sweet..." He replied, and with both of his hands he lifted up her arms on either side of her head, and leaned in dangerously close, until his lips forced themselves on hers as she tried to yell out for someone.

She wasn't kissing back and felt her arms throb from how his grip was constricting them, and then he bit her lip so hard she tasted blood and she opened her mouth in a cry, to which he grunted happily at and shoved his tongue right in. As she felt him kissing her like that, she became suddenly enraged, and not being able to move her arms or head, she wriggled her body, trying to get around him, trying to press free from him.

When he realized her attempts of escape, he positioned his hips right in front of her and pushed them into her stomach, pressing her to the wall with his lower body and moaning as he did so, while he brought his chest flat to hers, his suit wrinkling against her bra in a way that disgusted her.

"Get... the hell offa me!" She demanded in a muffled sort of way as he broke the kiss. She tried to lean her head forward to bite him, showing him that she wouldn't be having him kissing her again without a fight.

"Hmf. You get all riled up like your mother, too. Oh don't worry," He added, noticing the appalled look on her face. "I never did anything with your mother. I just knew what she was like, and I liked watching her... I admired her, really."

"STOP TALKING ABOUT MY MOTH-"

He kissed her again, and when she allowed his tongue to enter her mouth this time, she bit it.

His muffled scream was what she heard and that made her happy enough, until he jerked his head back, brought her arms around him in a painful yank, and used his freed hand to reach up and grab her cheeks, shaking her head back and forth slightly with a look of anger.

"You will regret doing that! I was going to ease you into things, but NOW?"

And when he let go of her face, his hand snuck down to his pants, starting to unbuckle them.

Her eyes widened in horror, and she cried out for help but realized that the shower indeed was making a lot of noise, and she went quiet abruptly as the shock of the situation took hold of her.

"_Excuse you_."

She jumped, as did the man still fumbling and cursing at his belt, when the voice made itself heard over the sound of the shower.

When Akari turned her head, she couldn't help the massive wave of relief that enveloped her at the sight standing by the bathroom door, a set of keys still dangling from the lock as he opened it wider.

"Tora..." She said thankfully, and tears of relief prickled in her eyes as he stood there, giving the man still holding her a long, hard, stern look.

"I-Igarashi!"

"Get off of me already, bastard!" Akari suddenly found herself screaming, and yanked hard, but the man for some reason wouldn't, still, let go of her wrists. It was as if they were glued in his tight grasp.

"Do as she says." Tora said in a manly, stern sort of voice that even scared her for a moment.

The man shoved her off of him as if she were a dangerous animal, and she roughly hit the wall behind her, her wrists and arms throbbing from his grip, her head spinning a little bit. Through the haze of her mind and the steam in the room, she could hear Tora scolding the man.

"I hardly think," The blonde said. "That _this _sort of thing is business oriented at all. And I highly doubt that she wanted it to happen. I would actually call this attempted rape."

His words were shockingly blunt, and the man being accused had straightened himself, and then bowed, and then straightened himself up once again. He had a look on his face that equaled severe anger and lust, but nothing at all like shame or guilt. The bastard wasn't even ashamed after being caught!

"I apologize for my behavior. I shall be leaving now, I suppose."

"Not only will you be leaving, but if I ever see your face again at this estate, I will be sure to kick your ass." Tora said. Akari found his words to be hilarious, as he had said 'kick your ass' in such an extremely business-like manner that the words didn't seem to fit in.

The man pushed past Tora, but not before she looked up and thought she saw him double over in pain. Tora had kneed him in the stomach.

"Get out quickly, Kichiro, and be sure to tell Miss Michiyo's father that he doesn't need to send any more of you worthless rats to my home. I, personally, will make sure to bring her to his estate tomorrow, so he doesn't need to worry about that."

And with those words, Tora yanked the man up from his bent state, and pushed him behind him and out the door.

Though Akari was filled with relief, when Tora turned his head and his yellow eyes found hers, she was suddenly feeling a bit helpless once again. He gave her a quick once over, and then proceeded to start unbuttoning his shirt. Her mouth dropped open as she watched.

"You- you're a hypocrite! You just told that man to- and then you- get the hell away from me!" As she exclaimed this, she backed up with great haste as he didn't stop proceeding to take off his shirt.

She found herself backing harshly into the tub, and then she was slipping, leaning back too far, about to fall head-first. She squeezed her eyes shut, expecting pain to fill up her head and make her pass out, but instead she felt a strength encircle her. When she opened her eyes and looked, she saw Tora right in front of her leaning all the way over her bent body, one of his arms steadying her at her waist while the other had stopped her fall, scooping around her back and keeping her instead, pressed close to him. The steam billowing behind his head made it seem like an image from a dream as his golden eyes stared down at her, his mouth set into a tight line, and he looked so serious and yet... dreamy at the same time.

She blinked.

His eye lids lowered slightly as he dipped her like that, leaning over her, his arm behind her the only thing keeping her from head-butting the marble of the bathtub.

"Uuuuhhhhh...~" Was all she could get out. She suddenly felt dizzy despite the fact she hadn't hit her head.

Just as quickly as he rescued her, he pulled her out of the dip and let go, stepping back, and she noticed that he was shirtless. Her blush spread across her face quickly, and she thought for a quick moment that if he asked, she would say it was from the hot steam building up in the room. No one had thought to turn off the shower yet, but when she was about to, his arm flew up and suddenly he was handing her his shirt.

"I wasn't going to try anything. I wanted you to have my shirt, seeing as you don't have yours." He glanced behind her, and she turned her head to see that her shirt, when the guy had taken it off of her, had landed on the floor of the shower, and was now completely soaked through.

Feeling ashamed at thinking he would try anything on her after she had already been attacked, she grabbed his shirt and turned around, proceeding to button it up properly, until it was done up all the way to the collar, and then she turned back around to face him with a quick apology.

"Sorry, I- sorry..."

* * *

When he had a hunch that something weird might be going on with that sly business man Kichiro, he followed that hunch and went to the parlor. When he found they weren't there, he was thinking that the man might have left already until he found the guy's shoes at the front door. Being suspicious and paranoid, Tora had made his way to the study, the library, the kitchen, even the back terrace. When he didn't know where else to look, he had gone to Akari's room. When he walked in, he saw no one and the lights were off, but he noticed the bathroom door was closed and there were sounds coming from it, sounds of the shower going over the sounds of fumbling.

And when he reached the door and realized it was locked, he was angry because he knew then what was happening.

And when he unlocked the door and saw the man just then trying to take off his pants, and saw how Akari looked, and saw the guy gripping her tightly like that... he was _furious_.

Afterwards, (meaning after he handled the situation and made sure to give the Kichiro a good punch to the stomach) as he caught Akari when she slipped, all he could think in his head was-

_That bastard got even further with her then I did! He got to see her shirtless, damn it, it's hardly fair!_

Now, as he watched her turn around, her hair ruffled around her shoulders, her eyes bright and her face flushed, and her small form hidden underneath the longer sleeves and bigger size of his clothing, a different thought occurred in his mind.

_I very much like the sight of her in my clothes..._

Without meaning to at all, he blushed, and wanted to slap himself when he realized that that was what the warm sensation in his face was all of a sudden.

Tora Igarashi.

Did not blush.

What was this world coming to?!

* * *

"Thank you, so much, really Tora. Thank you for stopping him from... and then catching me when I slipped... and thank you for your shirt." She said it as respectfully as she could, and when she took a closer look at him she noticed his fists were clenching his pants and his face was slightly red. She tried to ignore the fact that his was shirtless...

"Are you feeling okay?" She says, sounding concerned.

"Oh. I might have a fever." He stated very bluntly. He sounded distracted.

"If you'd like to, go lie down on my bed until you start to feel a bit better." She says, and she blushes as she accidentally looks down at his chest and muscles before she forces herself to turn around and address the still-running shower. "I'll just turn this off now..."

Her thoughts as she turned off the shower were muddled. He was being so... unlike himself lately. He had apologized to her yesterday, giving an honest and true apology, and just now when she was standing before him in nothing but her skirt and bra, he only handed her his shirt. What... he was just... oh she didn't even know!

When she turned around, thankfully, he was gone. She could do without the distraction of his pheromones for a moment. She turned towards the mirror, and, seeing herself, she immediately felt embarrassed.

Her hair was the epitome of messy. Her face was so very red, and it made her bright silver-blue eyes stand out like sharp kitchen cutlery. Her skirt almost when unseen, as the edges of Tora's shirt came to just above the rim of the bottom of it. His shirt she had on hung off of her slightly too big, the sleeves went past her finger tips and it just overall looked too big on her.

A strange thought entered her mind, making her blush harder as she tugged the sleeves up, rolling them to her sore wrists.

She kind of liked the way she looked in his shirt...

She just about slapped herself. No, she couldn't think like that, it was... weird, to think like that. But as she tried to clear her head, she found she couldn't, and then another thought popped up.

Tora had been her hero today.

_What's going on? How did the villainous figure turn into a hero?!_

* * *

Tora was at a crossroads inside his mind. He didn't know whether to hate himself for having her cover herself with his shirt, or hate himself for wanting to do the exact same thing that that bastard was doing to her. Ah... he was such a pervert. But he had accepted that long ago, had he not? Yet still, it annoyed him and he had to judge himself for having the same thoughts about her that that scumbag of a man did. Idiot Kichiro...

Apparently, Tora's thoughts equaled that of a man who liked to sexually assault his employer's daughter. But wait... hadn't he tried to force Misaki into the same situation a long time ago? Eh, but that was a one-time thing. The circumstances had left him getting a bit out of control...

This was ridiculous! He was scolding himself for both what he had done to help Akari, and what he had wanted to do to Akari but didn't! Ugh...

* * *

She walked back into her bedroom and stood a little ways away from the bed, completely turned to stone, frozen solid as a rock to the carpet.

There he was, lying on top of the covers of her bed, his chest tantalizingly rising and falling and the tight muscles of his stomach quivering just slightly with each breath he took. Her eyes wandered down to the rim of his pants, watching his hips, those jutting hipbones that poked out of his white tailored pants, swivel slightly as he moved and adjusted on the bed, covering his forehead with an arm. Her eyes shot upwards, and she tried to snap herself out of it, but then they found his long arms coiled with muscle, and she found herself suddenly fantasizing about how warm those arms were around her... she noted that the Igarashi boy's arms were so much warmer than the man's before him who had touched her so coldly, gripped her so possessively. Though Tora's grip on her was also always so possessive... but the man's had been a bad, eerie type of possessive, while Tora's was... in it's own way... that it just... it made her feel protected. There she said it. (To herself)

Suddenly his head turned, and his contemplative look changed to that of a more serious, stern one. She gulped when he lifted himself easily from the bed, and swung his legs around, and as he sat to face her she saw his bare stomach clenching and tightening with his movements, his long arms resting, defined and muscular despite being relaxed, on the bed beside him.

The pair of them stared at each other for a moment. Whenever their eyes met, he was always astonished at her opposite silver gaze on his golden one, how she could always level it with his. And she was always taken aback by how fiercely his eyes glowed, like a severe yellow fire flickering over her dangerously.

Unknown to either of them, they both were inwardly groaning.

I can't take this anymore! He's not being fair!

* * *

She's not being fair! I can't take one more second of this!

Tora stood up, clearing his thoughts from his head until he was focused on only her, and the situation from just a few moments before. He opened his mouth, making his eyes give her a serious look.

"You can't just let men do things to you like that. You can't allow men to have their way with you."

She looked utterly shocked by his words.

"I know th-"

"You only ever stop my approaches, but never anyone else's."

He silently cursed himself for sounding a bit too harsh. He sounded like he was making this personal now.

"First of all, what happened today wasn't my fault, I TRIED to stop him-"

"You need to learn I'm not the only dangerous guy out there." He says, her words sliding off of him and being left alone.

"Of course I know that already!" She stares at him with a hard gaze, a glare, and then almost dares him with a look when she adds in; "And _you_ aren't really all that dangerous."

Before thinking, only listening to those words echo in his head, he pounces at her, and together they land on the floor.

* * *

**A/N: I'm not gonna say anything. I'm not gonna say anything. I'm not gonna say-**

**Okay so as I've said before, sexual tension is heightened in this story, and it's getting closer and closer to their first lemon moment... lemony lemony lemony... Mmm so sour, so sexy!**

**That is all. No, really, I mean it. I mean it!**

**love youuu you all rockk BIG TIME! your reviews make me glow with an aura of self-empowerment! I'm not kidding, I look like a freaking light bulb! My face is glowing as bright as Tora's eyes! Keep sending in reviews so I know how you like things, mmkay? That'd be sweet as ice cream for me.**

**Also, it's a little late in coming, but I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving! If you celebrate that holiday, that is. Anyway, I just hope you didn't all explode due to gluttony.**

**CK :***

**ooh, Apocalyptica just came on Pandora. **

**Hey I know this song! If you were dead or still alive... I don't care, I don't caaare... just go and leave this all behind... cause I swear... I don't caaare...**

**(Sorry, I accidentally typed what I was singing aloud...)**

**... I'm such a talkaholic. :( BAD ME! BAD! sorry, I'll go put myself in the torture chambers and tie myself up and have my characters do weird things to me now. I've been sharing too much again. U.U hmf. I get what I deserve. I'll be back.**


	13. That's What He Said

**A/N: *author has returned, with rope burns on her wrists and ankles, her hair is a mess, and her lips are swollen, her skin is covered in suspicious looking red marks* Uuuhh... Tora and Usui did a number on me... oh... wow... ouch... what, how... how did they even reach THERE? o.O**

**...**

**OH MY GOD DID I TAINT YOUR EYES WITH STRANGE VISIONS? I SWEAR NOTHING NAUGHTY HAPPENED THEY JUST punished ME IN THE TORTURE CHAMBERS FOR BEING SUCH A TALKER! YEAH THAT'S RIGHT, **PUNISHED**...**

**... ... ... ...**

**DON'T THINK WEIRD THINGS! NOTHING HAPPENED!...**

**JUST READ THE DAMN STORY DAMMIT!**

**excuse me- there is more smut in this chapter. Wait, just to be sure, smut is like, sexual hints or tendencies, but not the actual 'having of sex', correct? Because that's my definition of what it is. Well, anyway, guys, beware of the smut to follow. (hope i'm using the term correctly. If I'm not, who gives a care? not I, said the writer)**

**Yeah, anyway, don't read if you are innocent and pure. If you are corrupted in any sort of way, be it in your mind, soul, or with your body itself, then read on! This is just a warning for those of the faint of heart- don't read if you are unprepared to have the sweetness of life slightly marred in it's image. ;)**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen. That's What He Said**

Akari lost her breath in that moment, as she suddenly she found herself sprawled out on the floor of her bedroom, with a shirtless Igarashi boy hanging over the top of her, his hands pinning her wrists to the floor and his legs spread on either side of hers.

"I'm not all that dangerous?" He said, his voice thick with disbelief. "I can assure you, I can be quite the danger to you."

She did her best not to look at him but wherever she settled her gaze, it was either on those fierce golden eyes or the light bronze of his bare skin. She huffed, needlessly blushing and deciding on shutting her eyes closed so that she didn't have to see anything.

"Humph. Not all that much. You're not so tough." She said as she tried to catch her breath.

Suddenly, she felt something lower on top of her, and his weight, instead of hovering over her, she realized was suddenly pressed to her, heavily. She still kept her eyes shut tight in an effort to squeeze the vision of him from her brain, but that only made the experience worse as he blew a soft breath in her ear and chuckled darkly.

"Prove it. If I'm not so tough... then push me off."

"Hah?" She said intelligently, opening her eyes as his nose grazed the shell of her ear and he dipped his head slightly, breathing hot breath onto her neck.

"You should easily be able to get out from under me if I'm not as tough as I say I am."

Hating the taunting tone of his voice and the way he sounded so sure of himself, for a moment, Akari thought she might be able to do it. Just to prove him wrong, maybe she could do it if she tried hard enough. Pushing off against the carpet, she shivered as he continued to breathe on her neck and she tried desperately to get him off of her. Her hands were pinned easily to the floor still, so she tried to move her legs, to kick him off of her or wiggle her hips out from underneath him, but he simply adjusted himself so that his knees pinned her down to the floor.

She made a sound of annoyance and stopped struggling in defeat. And when Tora pulled his head back to look at her, she shot him her best glare.

"Ah, so you can't. So I was right." He said, smirking down at her with that stuck up glance of his, and then suddenly he was pulling off of her and standing up straight.

Akari immediately shot up in a sitting position, but he was already walking across her room, and by the time she stood on her feet, he had waved his hand behind him, tossing her one last sharp glance over his shoulder, and then he was gone out the door.

"Son of a..." She started, and then held her tongue in all her rage.

That bastard... a hero? How had she ever thought of him as that! He wasn't a hero! He just wanted to save her so that he could harass her himself! That... he- Oh, he deserved her wrath now.

Stomping across the room, she threw open the door and noticed that he was already halfway down the hall.

She watched as he turns his head slightly over his shoulder at the sound of her approaching footsteps, and then his eyes widen for a split second as her hand makes contact with his face. Very harsh contact with his face.

*SMACK!*

"That's something I've wanted to do for a long time now." Akari said, huffing and withdrawing her hand slowly.

* * *

He'd been so blatantly lying to himself when he decided that a woman who fought back was pesky or annoying, as he had always thought before. Sure, it was aggravating for a woman to fight him off again and again and again and _again_, but that was with Ayuzawa. She was annoying, with her very constant aggression. Females also needed a soft side to them, after all, no matter how pleasant the chase could be.

But with Akari, it was different. As he absorbed the sting of the reddened mark resulting from the slap to his cheek, he felt strangely excited. Excited that she had finally fought back, made a physical approach against him. And when he looked at her, he felt an involuntary movement stirring in his pants. Her face was flushed, her eyes shining, the look she was giving him somehow erotic because of how dangerous and wild she appeared. Like a beautiful animal that was not allowed to be touched by human hands, not allowed to be seen, something not to be messed with. The thought of her being something forbidden only further aroused his interest, and the thought of her being a challenge for him spiked his attraction ten-fold.

Yes, it wasn't pesky of her to hit him. In fact, it was all the more fun with her all riled up, and just because of him, too... it made him feel good, a little _too_ good, to have this effect on her. But how far could he push his influence on her, he wondered?

Her chest heaved slightly more than it already was as he took a step closer to her. She had certainly distanced herself from him after the slap- she was almost all the way to the other end of the hall now, still backing up.

He looked into her eyes, his sharp senses seeing every small detail even from a distance. She didn't look scared, like many others had. She looked a tad intimidated, but was holding her ground, despite, he noticed, her shaking legs. It was as if she couldn't hold herself up properly, the cause of her shakiness being her sudden outrage.

Or maybe... it was him. He smirked and stepped even closer, and she nearly collapsed as her knees shook a bit more. She was just as aware of him from this distance, as he was of her.

"Why did you hit me?" He asked, taking on a curious demeanor, though his eyebrows raised, hinting at a smirk. His face was hurting and red but he found himself enjoying it. Hmm, he'd never been any type of masochist before, always a sadist. But after that slap... well this was an interesting twist for him.

"Because... you need to learn your place, Igarashi."

His heavy gaze lightened and his lips quirked upwards in slight amusement. Then, he took another step forward, and another, slow steps forcing himself her way once again. Each of his steps were leisurely deliberate, he was walking like he had a secret purpose and the slowness of his pace only seemed to set her on edge even more- he was like a predator, gradually nearing his prey.

"Just wait a minute." She said, stepping back as he inched in progress towards her. Now she looked a bit worried.

"I hope you're not losing confidence in yourself?" His smirk was at large.

He had hoped to keep her from turning and running the other way with his words. It seemed to take the effect he wanted.

She stood up straighter, standing her ground. Her eyes still looked into his as evenly as ever, but he caught the barely-there tremor in her voice.

"I-I'll hit you again."

~step

.

.

~step

"I will."

~step

.

.

.

~step

"Don't underestimate me!"

~step

.

.

~step

"TORA IGARASHI, I can and will hit you, much harder than before."

~step

He's not too far from her now, and his eyes glow ferociously golden in the dimness of the hall.

~step

"Hmm. Will you?" He taunted, eyelids lowering.

"If you so much as take one more step towards me-"

~step

In response to this, she swiftly lifted her hand to smack at him again, (for he was now standing right before her, standing close as to where their feet could almost touch) but he, knowing full well that he had the upper hand with her, gripped her wrist before she could deliver the blow. His eyes seemed to spark as she looked to see him, and she yanked on her hand, trying to pull away. He didn't let her go.

"I already know my place, Akari." He said slowly, leaning forward and taking her other wrist in his other hand. He held both of her arms at a downward angle and pressed ever-closer, his warm breath hitting her face, and just below her chin. His eyes, like bright search beams glancing over her face, made her shiver.

She was uncomfortable but comfortable at the same instant. His eyes on her like that made her feel like she was under the influence of dancing yellow flames, dangerous but engulfing her in a strange, thorough warmth. Suddenly, she wanted him for a moment, and it was precisely at the moment she thought that, in which he leaned even closer, and his tongue flicked out to brush warmly against her lips.

Her body somehow didn't betray her, though, and instead of pushing up to kiss him, she only sucked in a deep, much-needed breath of air. The breath she inhaled felt, tasted, and smelled of him- a powerful sensation of mixed colognes and the natural smell of a young man. It was dizzying- dazzlingly overwhelming- and he didn't pull away.

"You're the one who needs to know your place."

Her eyes widened at his words right before his lips numbed hers with their touch, and as he bit and tugged imploringly at her lower lip, she opened her mouth automatically and without thinking.

He kissed her fervently, never letting up on the power he wanted to show her he had. She needed to know her place, and she needed to know that it wasn't on the same ground as him. He was enjoying her more than he'd like to admit, though. How could he do this to himself? It was like... he was starting to feel things he didn't want to feel, once again! More and more- he was realizing more, and more... that he was only to ever be sated by her.

Akari pulled her head back and he followed, lips still connected. She was trying to concentrate on something besides the feel of his lips, and yet he was somehow making her kiss him back. Like he could control her tongue as she entangled it with his- it felt like she wasn't doing it herself even though she was indeed kissing him back on her own accord. She felt shivers all around her as he mumbled, humming, in a satisfactory manner against her lips, making the kiss build up into a fierce attack dominated by himself as his mouth moved in effortless talent.

When he finally broke off from her, allowing her to breathe and him to lick his lips enjoyably, she spoke in a whispered tone.

"You are a cruel and hypocritical man." She could barely get the words out. A kiss from Tora Igarashi was extremely powerful, and dominant, and she had been taken off guard by its, somehow delicate, ferocity. Her breath stolen by him- his seductive lips the vacuum that sucked her air dry and useless from her sore mouth.

"That could be so. But we'll save that topic for another time, because we must now address the mistake you just made." His lips curved, teasingly ripe and slick from the open-mouthed kiss.

"H-huh, what could I have done? You're the one-"

"You acknowledged me, just now, as a man." He said, and she looked surprised that he wasn't talking about her mistake of kissing him back. "And if you've finally acknowledged that I am one, then I cannot withhold my natural tendencies anymore." He pulled her around and backed her into a closed door on the next wall, and no sooner could she make a defenseless, unsuspecting sound then he had moistened his lips with that skilled tongue of his and placed them just below her collarbone, directly above where her chest protruded outwards a tad from the rest of her body.

"A man's mind is controlled by his wants in the current situation. And right now..." He licked along her collarbone, making her shudder against her will. "Right now I want something from you."

When he broke off with his tongue abruptly and replaced that with his lips at her sensitive white neck, she cried out in shock, as he harshly suckled the skin there. It was still highly sensitive, the marks that were caused by Kai still not completely erased. Reaching his right hand up but keeping both her wrists locked firmly in his other, he covered her mouth to muffle her sudden yelps and demands of release and continued his attack on her defenseless neck. To both of their surprise, she ended up moaning at some point into his palm.

She blushed red-hot when he let her go, released both of his hands and his mouth, and stepped back to look at her. His usual arrogance, and then a slight-astonishment mingled in with his steady gaze.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself."

"Well, let the record show that I am definitely not." She mumbled, and it came out more breathy and heated then she had meant. Damn his touch, his hot, enticing touch... she could feel the warmth beneath her skirt, all too aware of her own arousal.

Tora saw the flicker in her gaze, that slight look of anticipation, and felt his pants get tighter. She was indeed making him feel like the man he was.

Roughly, he pulled her into his arms and wouldn't let her go, showering her face and neck with his wet, open, hot kisses. He had never held a young woman so severely in his arms like this before, he noted.

"It was a mistake to openly state that I am a man, Akari." His voice was dreamy, and huskily so. "Because you know how men are- you've had enough experiences already to know- they are demanding, lusting, carefree and _oh so easily_ tempted."

She gulped and moved against him slightly, and he moaned lightly when she brushed against the inner part of his legs. It was getting out of hand...

"You lecherous tiger." She hissed, panting.

"You lavish temptress." He growled, pulling back to gaze at her with a harsh smirk.

His.

He would have her.

And he was, being himself, fully prepared to go to any extremes to get her to succumb to him.

Tora pulled her even tighter to his body, knowing full well that the situation for her was made all the more tempting with the close proximity of his toned, bare chest. Surely, he was an offer even a girl as stubborn as her couldn't so simply walk away from.

Akari couldn't help her quivering nerves, her body pressed into him greedily, and she really couldn't help the slight moan that escaped her lips. She felt she was now wanting this like he did. She couldn't handle the pressure of resisting anymore, she could feel the need setting in. Akari couldn't just ignore him when things were like this- he was shirtless, dammit! When some guy, that you've already before had a few risque moments with, is in front of you and dripping with pheromones with his shirt gone and his eyes looking at you in _that way_- you didn't just push him away! You couldn't pull back! Even if she really wanted to... she knew she couldn't, she could absolutely not.

She bit into his neck, hissing as she felt hot and uncomfortable between her legs, and he growled, aggressively, not wanting her to be the one in charge, and pushed her lips aside from his bare skin with a finger. When she looked up at him to see his slight grin, her eyes widened when he grabbed her hand, and pulled her after him as he started briskly walking through the halls.

"What are you d-"

He suddenly turned around as they rounded a corner and captured her lips again, pulling tentatively on her lip, like it was soft enough to break. Right when she started to groan and meld into him again, he pulled her around behind him and dragged her past a set of downward stairs, around another corner, past a flight of ascending stairs, around another corner, and his steps got quicker as the halls started to expand slightly- they were now in a different wing of the house.

"Tora-!"

He whipped her around again, capturing her lips as he pushed her roughly with a noisy 'thump' into a wall, seductively snaking one hand down her stomach.

"Quiet." He sneered when he broke off the kiss and removed his hand, and when she refused to move as he tugged at her again, giving him a stubborn look, he just rolled his eyes, becoming steadily aggravated, and picked her up completely effortlessly, stalking quickly with her in his arms down the halls again.

Suddenly, they were in front of a door. It was like it just appeared there- but then again she had been too distracted by the pheromones radiating from the closeness of his body to notice right away. He kept her in his arms, his bare, muscular arms... she felt hazy as he eased the door open, and then, they were in a room even more lavish than her own.

His room.

"Tor-" She was cut off when he flung her onto the closest thing- the couch- and then he turned back to shut and lock the door behind them.

"Don't talk." He stalked towards her, and she found herself staring at his bare chest again before he lowered himself down on the couch over the top of her and captured- no, crushed- her lips with his.

They made out until they could've passed out from the lack of oxygen, her mind going blank as his eager, expert lips moved over her own mouth, pushing and pressing in different ways, creating a kiss that she had never before been caught up in. To both of their lung's relief, she found a hand to push him back, her palm to his chest as she started to remember that air was vital to both of them. After they panted for quite some time, she shook her head and took a moment to glare at him in confusion.

"That was uncalled for- my room was literally right there next to us!"

"I don't have condoms tucked in the drawer of your room's dresser, and I didn't think you'd have any there either." He smirked.

Her eyes widened. Condoms? Then this... things were really getting out of hand here!

Then she pushed that thought away as she took note of his face. Always so damn cocky. And why did it look so good on him?

"I would." She lied, just wanting to see him taken off of his steady guard for once.

And it worked. He gave her his most surprised look, and then that look turned to suspicion and uneasiness.

"You wouldn't be secretly having sex with that multi-personality blonde, would you? Or that glasses boy?"

"I dunno, what would you say if I am, Igarashi?" She kept up her own arrogant facade as best she could manage.

His hands suddenly pushed her back harder into the cushions.

"It's not about what I would _say_, it's about what I would _do_." He said simply.

"What _would _you do?" She knew she probably shouldn't have said anything.

He gave her his sweetest smile, like 'oh you poor dear, how sweet of you to ask', though that effect was marred by the slight fang that barely made itself seen between his lips. And then, in one fluid, quick, flashing move, he brought his arm to the collar of his shirt that she was wearing and yanked down- each button ripping off and flying all around them as he tore the shirt open without a care that it was his and it was expensive (he always had more), exposing her bra and bare stomach. Her eyes widened as he pushed her back even more so against the sofa's soft dark cushions, the shirt still on her but just ripped open at the front so that he could have access to what he was now doing, rubbing his hands up and down her stomach, around her sides, and over her bra.

"Whoa." She breathed harshly, while she felt a strong hand slipping over her exposed stomach.

He smiled, and oh look, there was that smirk of his.

"'Whoa'?" One single, golden eyebrow shot upwards. "I can make you say more than that."

"That wasn't a challenge-"

He kissed her once just to cut off her voice, and was slow in pulling back, her bottom lip caught between his teeth until he finally released it and let a hot breath sweep over her face.

"Hmm. Everything is a challenge with you."

And with those words, her bra came unhooked and he was holding it over her face for her to see, straddling her with his long legs while he sat up triumphantly.

Her arms shot upward and covered her bare chest, and Akari made an accusatory face- no one had seen her this exposed since her first time...

His face changed to one of sudden interest, and he threw the bra aside, stretching out his legs down by hers, holding himself up on his forearms as one of his knees settled in between her legs, and his chest hovered inches above her own. The couch was barely wide enough and long enough for the two of them to fit comfortably.

She couldn't help but wonder if he designed it like that. The perfect size for sexual purposes. He _would_ do that.

"Have you had sex before?" He gave her a thorough once-over with those golden spheres of his.

She couldn't stop the embarrassed look on her face. Which would he do, call her a dirty slut if she said yes or an inexperienced child if she said no?

"You have." He realized while gazing at her. He sounded-

He sounded disappointed.

A solid question mark was all her mind could muster.

"How many times?" He asked, the disappointment now replaced with a derision.

"Like I'll be telling you that! It's a personal topic! I bet you've had it- a lot... I don't want to know your amount and you can't know mine."

"I couldn't tell you even if you wanted to know."

She gave him a queer look, as he was non-too-subtly implying he'd done it too many times to keep track.

"And if you don't tell me," His eyes shone with a scary sort of twinkle as he leaned forward even more, his lips nipping her ear and his knee sliding up more in between her legs. "I won't be gentle like I planned..."

Her eyes widened and her breathing stopped for a moment, but she just scoffed and moved her head to the side, away from his mouth. She wriggled underneath him, trying to get away, but he just smirked as she was thoroughly trapped by the strong, stunning, golden cage that was Tora Igarashi. His leg inched up _even more _in between her legs, and she gasped as it was so close to...

"You don't seem to fear my warnings. Are you perhaps a masochist?"

Her face turned towards his again.

"No- I hate pain!"

"Then I assume you won't find any pleasure in this."

She had momentarily forgotten her bare chest displayed for him, and he suddenly pinched at one of her nipples, and very hard, at that. She gasped openly, squirming, but then his hand switched over to the other one, and he pinched that one hard too. And it felt... good... kinda...

Oh god, he was _turning her into _a masochist! That was his plan, she'd bet!

"St-op!" She gasped.

He stopped, after one last, good pinch.

"Oh? Did that cause you pain?"

She panted and quickly nodded. Though it was more pleasurable than painful...

He leaned forward, his lips above hers, his eyes glinting knowingly.

"_Liar_."

His knee had inched all the way up between her legs, and brushed against one of her most sensitive and private areas. She made the moan that was erupting stop and die in her throat as he laughed in evil joy.

"Oh," His tone was much too colloquial for this type of situation. "So you're a masochist."

"BAKA. The hell I am!"

He suddenly pulled away, sitting back on his heels but still straddling her, his knee still up far in between her legs, his thigh hugging her own. His face was strict, like he was closing a business deal, when he said;

"Now tell me how many times."

"I won't."

He suddenly laughed.

"I'd hardly think," He said, and his eyes caught hers, glinting malevolently. His voice was a sneer. "That someone in your position could deny me like that."

"Shut up. And let me go!"

"You don't really want that, and I don't really wanna do that."

She moved underneath him, trying to get her legs out from between his thighs. He was quick to lean forward and pin her arms down with his hands, his thighs gripping around her hips tighter than before.

"You aren't going anywhere, you know."

"Well you should know you aren't getting an answer."

She watched him as he scowled above her. He must really hate losing.

"Akari, I don't want to hurt you, but I'll make this rough if I have to."

She pulled her head up, craning her neck forwards so she could look him right in the eye, her lips pulled into a confident smile.

"Hah. Okay Igarashi. I know what you want. You've wanted it since day one, and you really can have it any time, isn't that right? By force, anyway. Don't you take most things by force? Well, don't worry, you won't have to this time. I'm not fighting. Go ahead and take me. I may not be a virgin, but still, sex is sex."

Tora blinked at her, surprised by her words. What was he supposed to do now?

What was one supposed to do when the prize just handed itself to you?

* * *

It was hours later. Tora wasn't with her. Akari was alone, back in her room. In the bathroom in the shower, to be exact.

Not that she wanted to be in the room where she had been assaulted hours before, but she felt dirty. For many various reasons. She closed her eyes and let the water run over her aching body relentlessly, remembering the feeling of Tora's hands on her skin. Warmth. Enticing, complete warmth.

He was seduction itself.

She could practically feel his hot breath on her neck right now, his thumbs over her cheek, his teeth at her neck...

She shivered as the water started to go cold.

"What am I doing?" Akari leaned forward out of the torrent of cooling water, and pressed her forehead to the glass of the surrounding shower walls.

How to forget him... how? How COULD she forget him now. Sure, he'd seen her half naked, but that wasn't it.

The thing was, she didn't think- no, she _knew_- that Tora had never walked away from a sexual approach before. And to be honest, it was bugging her that, even though she had gotten her way in the end, he had acted so differently. Because this was a confusing dilemma now.

The question was WHY was he acting so differently with her? She would have just been another one night stand. She was sure she wasn't special to him. No, no she wasn't, and likewise, he meant absolutely nothing to her.

Absolutely...

Nothing...

She looked up and caught a glimpse of her reflection.

"Dammit Tora!"

Her boobs had bruising finger-print marks here and there, and her neck had a large splotchy hickey, fresh and new. That tiger wouldn't understand the meaning of the words 'gentle' or 'fragile' if it kicked him in the groin!

* * *

"Damn that's good!"

The sounds of his grunts and a young woman's screams could be heard only inside of the sound-proof walls of Tora Igarashi's room (thank god) and they were sure loud. On the bed, two figures moved and jolted with each other, just about to reach each of their own climaxes.

"M-M-Mr. Igarashiiiii..." The maid beneath Tora mumbled, groaning and twisting at his touch, his push and pull in and out of her.

And right as he climaxed after she just had...

"Akari..."

_Shit!_

The maid looked perplexedly up at him, and he was quick to roll off of her as the moment slowed itself down.

_SHIT!_

"Wha... What sir?"

"Hurry and get out."

"Er... um..."

"Get out right now," Tora slid off the bed and turned his back to her, rubbing a hand over his sweaty face and pushing down his hair flat. "And if you dare say a word, a single word, about what just happened, or any of this, then I personally will make sure you're fired on the spot." He tossed a glare over his shoulder at her, his lips in a sneer. "And jobless for the rest of your life."

The maid brushed past him with a 'sorry' and a nod, grabbing up her clothes, slipping into her uniform quickly, and running from the room like a scared child.

Tora immediately started pacing. He was still naked and the moonlight spilling through the room showed his lean figure, the glow bouncing off of his skin as he paced this way and that beside the bed. Finally, he pulled on a pair of silken pants and unrolled the covers, slipping back into his bed, which smelled like sex, though he really didn't care since that was a smell he was all too used to. He would have the sheets changed in the morning.

_What did I just say?! What the hell did I just say?!_

He turned in the bed to stare up at the ceiling, spreading his arms out on either side of him and letting his chest rise and fall a little too slowly compared to the rapid beat of his heart.

_Why did I say that? Why did I say that, in that sort of situation?_

He quickly turned over to his stomach, pushing his face into the pillow. He almost felt like screaming, but only struggled for breath in the tight space of the plush whiteness.

_Why would I say _her_ name? In _that _way? While doing _that_?!_

* * *

**A/N: ****I've surpassed 1,000 viewers on this story! Let's celebrate with a stack of thanks sandwiched between a slab of my gratitude and a layer of my happiness! You guys all rock! I feel so accomplished! But I've been neglecting my other stories for this particular one... so I should probably start posting new chapters for my other fics as well. One of my reviewers for my other story already flipped a table...**

**Speaking of reviewers, I have received the most empowering and embellishing reviews throughout the entire span of this story from you guys. I cannot help the smile that comes to my face when I'm reading over the comments you've all made, be them long or short, I love taking the time to read them and actually, I've read all of them more than once just because I love to see such lovely and explicit critique over and over again!**

**Btw, this chapter was originally going to be the lemon chapter. But it just didn't feel like the right time, you know? As a writer, I could feel that I could build it up so much more... so much more... nope, the lemon chapter was canceled here, and put at a later time in the story, over _there_. Oh, you can't tell where _there _is? Well, I guess you'll just have to wait n' see. wa. haha. wahaha.**

**Catchya nextime!**

**CK :***

**P.S- thumbs up for socially awkward turtles! ;) just thought I would randomly add that in**


	14. Sucker Punch

**A/N: Okay let's try this out. **

**Torkari**

**Akora**

**Akara**

**Torari**

**Ferrari**

**Waitaminutethat'sacar**

**Tori**

**Tokari**

**Sushi**

***Slaps self* great now I want sushi**

**Akorai**

**Toari**

**Akarioatorakaria**

**...god, give me strength...**

**^ my attempts at melding Tora and Akari into a cute couple name. You know, let's just call them Michiashi. It's fun to say and it's just a mix of their last names, instead of their first names. Or it could be Igariyo. Ha, that's weird. Anyway, Michiashi. (dare you to say it eleven times fast)**

**Michiashi Michiashi Michiashi Michiashi Mich...**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen. Sucker Punch**

_Everything _hurt.

Her _wrists _hurt, her _boobs _hurt, her _arms _hurt, her _head _hurt, her _lips _hurt, her _neck _hurt...

You know those written stories or films when girls are being assaulted or captured and beat up or whatever, and then they appear to be perfectly fine the next day? Like, oh, I was assaulted, then rescued, and because I was rescued, I just magically got better in the arms of my hero- no medical attention needed- no questions asked. A kiss from a prince fixed any mental and/or physical flaws that had becomed me during my awful experience- and now I'm great!

THEY WERE LIES. Those stories were such LIES.

Being man-handled certainly left a toll on one's body.

You did NOT feel 'great' the next day. More like paralyzed by pain.

When Mr. what's-his-face had attempted to rape her last night, it was not mere child's play. He'd tugged on her wrists until they were red and raw, as she noticed that they were this morning. He had bruised her upper arms from grabbing her there so hard. When he'd thrown her against the wall when Tora had demanded her release, her head had hit the mirror and only now did she realize how badly it throbbed, after that, and being yanked around, pulled to the floor, pulled down hallways, pulled all over the place. Her boobs were bruised by Tora's hands, and probably some of the bruises were from the other guy as well. Her neck still had the leftover marks from Kai, and a big new hickey from Tora. Bite marks and all, reddish-purple and very noticeable. Her lips had been kissed so many times in the last 24 hours that she thought they just may fall off.

Everything _hurt._

_"...wake up."_

"Ugh..." She turned in her bed, which only brought on more pain. "Owww..."

_"Miss...chio...get up."_

"Please leeeeaaave..."

_"Miss Michio... need to get up..."_

"Bull crap." She groaned again as pain shot through her like a firework, exploding in all the specific places- boobs, neck, wrists, lips, arms, head.

_"Miss Michiyo, I'm sorry but you need to get up."_

Now that the voice had become more clear as sleep was leaving her, Akari sat up in bed, keeping her eyes squinted shut to the daylight, and threw a pillow at random somewhere.

"Like hell I will!"

And then she collapsed on the bed with a new mountain of groans to escape her throat, an avalanche of pain accompanying it.

* * *

Later on, a voice came back. But this time it was relentless.

"Get up."

She groaned.

"Ooowwwww..."

"Get. Up."

"Mmm...Mmyou get up."

"I am up." The voice growled lethally.

"Well so am I."

"Get out of bed."

"I'm not in bed."

Suddenly, a pull on her body made her collapse non-too-gracefully onto the floor.

And _everything hurt dammit!_

"Guh..."

"Now you aren't." There was a contemptuous huff after the voice spoke this time.

Mean.

"Uuuuuggghhhh..." She said into the carpet, unable to move anything without feeling any pain.

"Stand up, we have to go."

"I'd rather die."

"Be careful with your words, Akari."

And then she was lifted up into the air, and suddenly she realized, was being held over someone's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The hands that clung to her were strong and smooth, yet rough in their grip on her. She smelled wine, cologne, fresh laundered suits... Familiar scents...

"...Tora? What are you doing in my bedroom?"

The voice that had spoken to her finally got into her head now.

"Waking you up." He sneered.

"Why're _you_ so angry? I'm the one being carried from my bed!"

"_I_ am upset, because the maids, couldn't get you out of bed. So I had to come do it. And now we're running behind schedule." Akari suddenly found herself being flipped over, and then she was pinned with her back against the wall, facing Tora. She looked up at him and gasped.

Had he always looked this...

No, she couldn't quite place it at the moment. That look on his face was just very... no... she just couldn't really place it.

His eyes bore into her like dramatic search lights, flickering ever slightly like a golden flame in the wind as they switched this way and that. What was going on in his head, she couldn't even remotely imagine, which was unusual, since normally, to her (and only her) he was easy to see through. For the most part.

"Erm- Tora..."

And just like that, he was gone. No sooner could she blink then he was no longer placed in front of her, his back turning and his long legs carrying him in swift steps away from where she stood. She looked to the door to see his arm disappearing behind it, his hand on the handle. He paused for a second, just a second, and with the only thing she could see of him being the glance of his back and his one arm pulling the door shut with him, he spoke- his voice just barely muffled by the door the other half of him was hiding behind.

"Get dressed into something formal. We're going to see your father today."

With a swift pull of his arm the door was shut and he was gone.

* * *

He almost did something to her right then.

Why? Why was he going through this all again?

It was the exact same feeling that had begun with Misaki Ayuzawa. The exact same... but this time he could sense it was still somehow different, even though it was the same.

Realer, perhaps? It was more... there. Real. Within his reach. Tangible.

And because there was no one she loved... he actually had a chance with her?

_What would happen if... I have become infatuated with her?_

Would she return his feelings? Would she deny that there was a connection between them? Would she run?

Or would she just simply be speechless, maybe? And then walk away... or embrace him as he is.

_Hey, she just might slap me again._

_Dammit!_

He felt his the front of his pants instantly feel tighter as a specific area of his throbbed at the thought. She had been thinking he was turning her into a masochist last night... but in fact, she had already turned _him_ into one.

_I never thought I'd ever, in my life, be able to call myself a masochist. _

_...Dammit!_

He wasn't acting like himself. He really wasn't acting like his usual self.

* * *

It got to a point where she started hyperventilating. She tried to make her breaths deeper and longer so that she wouldn't pass out.

"I don't know if I can... do this... how am I supposed to see that man again?"

It had taken her all the way until she showered and washed her face to realize what Tora had said, since her mind was dull today from the pain her body was inflicted with.

They were going to see her father today.

"Owww..." She quickly sat down on the love seat and placed a palm to her head, willing it's start-up of an insistent pounding to go back to nothing as it was before. A headache did not need to be added to her list of bodily pain.

After a few moments, it was seeming to subside, so she stood up and allowed her towel to drop to the floor. Her room was always exceedingly hot, so she wasn't really all that cold walking naked across the room to her closet, and therefore didn't rush herself into getting into some clothes.

"'Get dressed into something formal' he says," She pulled on a nice pair of finely-threaded dress pants. "'We're going to see your father today' he says..."

_Some days, I really wish I could hate that boy..._

* * *

This girl...

He reached forward, roughly grabbing hold of her arm, and pulled her into the car in one fluid movement. She almost slipped in her heels she had on, but he ha a firm hold on her and steadied her as she flopped into the car. In no time, the door was shut, the car was moving, and she was struggling to sit properly in her seat in front of him.

"What is with you today..." She mumbled, rubbing her neck and wincing in pain.

For a moment, all he could do was feel a bit guilt-ridden. And then he looked away, erasing the guilt and trying to act unaffected by nonchalantly asking;

"Is your father alright with you wearing that?"

To which his only answer recieved was a glare and a turn of her head in the other direction.

She was wearing elegant attire- but in a sort of... business-suit-form. She wasn't wearing a skirt or dress, but pressed, black pants. Her shirt was made of fine silk, a nice light burgundy color, with a fashionable bow at the collar around the chest area, with long sleeves and fancy buttons, and it was tucked and fitted nicely into her pants. She looked like a young woman instead of a school girl right now, and it was almost like a sense of self-empowerment emanated off of her in a beautiful aura adjoining the outfit she was in.

Her father was probably not okay with this, he would assume. He didn't personally know the man, but given the research done...

He casually leaned back in his seat and reached a hand back to the glass divider, tapping on it twice with his knuckles.

"Turn the car around, we're not leaving quite yet."

This caught her attention. She shot her head up and glanced at him wearily.

"Forget something, Tora?"

"Yes, your skirt seems to be missing."

"SKIRT?" He could laugh at her incredulous face. "In this sort of weather?"

"That kind of attire won't agree with your father." He gestured at what she had on.

"How would you know? You haven't met the man."

His eyes met hers then. He looked as if he was going to say something important, catching her unwilling attention in that moment.

And then, he only leaned back even more comfortably and gave a smug sort of smile.

"As I've said before, I'm an Igarashi."

Akari made a -_- face and then huffed.

"No, aggravating is what you are..."

"He looked up at her with a plain look.

"Get out of the car."

"Okay, you took that insult a little too seriously..."

"No, idiot, we've arrived back at the house. Get out and go change."

"I refuse. I'll be cold."

Suddenly, without being able to stop himself, he leaned forward and placed a hand on her crossed legs, his fingers brushing over her knee as his eyes drew closer to her face and he smiled.

"Would you like it if I warmed you up?"

She blinked at him, and he watched as she shuddered for a moment. And then, she was leaning forward and smiling herself. The move was unexpected (as always, damn her versatility!) and he blinked and lost the seductive look in his eye for a moment, his eyes widening in slight surprise, giving him a sort of blank, deer-in-the-headlights look as she approached him all at once, placing a hand on his knee like he did hers, and pushing into his intimate zone.

"Your charm won't work on me, Igarashi."

She said it in such a bitter-sweet voice he wasn't sure what to say next. And then she was leaning back all of a sudden, and the white light of the snow-filled day opened up to his eyes as she opened the car door and stretched one slender leg out.

"But you make a valid point. I don't wish to argue with my father today or any other day, especially over something as simple as clothing."

The door slammed in his face and he was left to sit there, completely baffled by her actions.

* * *

She could catch him peering at her, just a mere glance in her direction.

"Is it hurting? What Kichiro did to you?"

She looked at him, and looked away.

"Oh, yes." She said quietly, sighing and leaning back, and then wincing at the movement.

Yes, she was still in pain. The warm shower this morning had helped a bit, but now she was in this uncomfortable skirt and heels and just altogether a stupid, pointless attire. She didn't mind girly clothing- but when it got uncomfortable, she minded.

Tora smirked.

"You did a fine job covering up the mark I gave you." He raised an eyebrow, increasing his smirk. "Self-conscious?"

She peered at his smug, arrogant face.

"You did an awful job covering up your ugly pride." She tosses him the same raised eyebrow. "Self-centered?"

He frowned at her and sighed, turning his face away. Well that was a strange response, coming from the king of all clever comebacks.

"Igarashi, you're acting... strange today. Is it about what happened last night?"

His head shot up and he glared at her.

"Who told you about last night?"

"No one, I was there to witness it!"

His eyes widened only slightly for a moment, and then calm resurfaced on his features and he relaxed once again into the seat.

"Oh, that."

_What else happened last night anyway?_

"What did you do after I left your room last night?"

He gave a short, tyrannical laugh.

"Hah, I don't have any reason to tell you the answer to that."

"Actually, you have several reasons. I've helped you out before, you owe me."

His smirk widened, his eyes glinting evilly. He looked rather like a tiger in that moment.

"What makes you think I'll tell you the truth?"

She sat back in her seat and looked away from him, but then he was leaning forward, bringing his hand to her chin and pulling her face up to his. His eyes still had that glint in them and his lips were a curved sneer.

"I'm not obliged to tell you anything about myself, Akari. For all you know, what you've seen of me so far is an act."

He released her chin and leaned back in his own seat, smirking still, his arms crossed over his chest as she stared at him, her eyes widened in both curiosity, suspicion, and disbelief. She quickly looked away.

_For all you know, what you've seen of me so far is an act..._

It was like he was whispering it right in her ear, even though she knew he was leaning back in his seat now, as she was in hers.

_But... it can't have all been a lie. _She thought.

"I knew you were fake from the moment I first met you." Is what she said though.

* * *

The beauty of a woman also rests in her mind, not just her breast size.

No, Tora was not so dull as to only want a woman for her body. (Though that was always a nice benefit)

He had to say, what Akari lacked to fill in her bra, was made up for the clever thoughts and cunning knowledge filled into her brain.

It was one of the things that made her such a prize. Especially her knowledge of just how fake he could be. She was a fascinating bit of kryptonite for him that saw through him and his weaknesses. And that's what caught his attention.

But seeing her now, dressed so formally and standing before the doors of her father's estate, yet looking completely nervous and sweat-dropping puddles, he couldn't quite see why she captivated him so much. She was a sweaty wreck of a teenage girl right then.

And then the door opened, and a young man appeared. She was abruptly transformed in a split moment of a second into a handsomely charming, rich, sophisticated, and eloquent young woman as the man came into view. That's when Tora remembered just where it was she came from.

He had to recall, she wasn't just some poor teen with daddy issues. She was a Michiyo, just like he was an Igarashi.

"Good morning, Hayate-kun. It has been much too long." She greeted the young man cordially as Tora stood by her side. He, of course, subconsciously sized the other man up, as did the other man sized Tora up when he saw him. It's what all men did.

As he surveyed the boy, he noticed no similarities in him and Akari, though he knew exactly who he was- her half brother. He supposed that the boy looked most like his mother, and Akari looked most like her mother, neither of them looking like their father, so of course they couldn't look alike.

"Ah, my dearest little half-sister. It's fantastic to get to see you after all this time." The boy said, allowing Tora and Akari to stand out in the cold a while longer while he made his voice prolong itself in it's speaking. And then, finally; "Why don't you both come inside."

Tora was shorter than Hayate by about a few inches, but then he supposed, the boy was older than him. As Tora brushed a hand across his own blonde hair, the other boy mimicked the move over his own curly chocolate locks, much to Tora's annoyance. He didn't like to be mimicked.

"You can set your coats there," Hayate gestured lazily to a coat rack by the door while a servant on stand-by quickly shut the large wooden thing behind them as they stepped inside. Immediately, the cool air ceased and the two of them discarded their coats.

Tora didn't like the way Akari's eyes were so still, set on an invisible path straight ahead of her. Normally, the curious girl was looking around at every crevice of everything she saw, taking every detail in. Then again, he supposed this was a place she'd already seen too much of.

"And you must be the Igarashi heir."

Tora went through the motions and took the other man's hand. For once, he did not smile and greet him politely, but simply nodded and stared at the person in front of him while they did the usual firm handshake.

Hayate Michiyo was a man of bulk and brawn. His shoulders were broad underneath his shiny suit and his chest stood out as if full of air like a balloon. His face was more or less okay-looking, though his eyes were a bit too close together and his nose was rather large, he had a sort of regal, or powerful, look about him that was more-or-less captivating. His hair was a long mop down to the shoulders, curled and crusty-looking, as if he used too much product in it, and his eyes were pale and watery-colored, like a washed-out pond.

Tora, not wanting to look at this unpleasant man anymore, glanced over at Akari, who was still staring and still, like a doll. Then he took a look around himself, and had quite the shock.

The mansion was rather... dark.

Compared to his own golden-and-cream palace, the Michiyo residence was a place of deep shadows, blood-maroon wall paper, hardwood floors and dim lighting. It's not that the electricity was a bother- it would seem they just had all of the lights constantly set at a dim setting. His eyes had a hard time adjusting for a moment, and he realized that the pain that had been occurring just behind his eyes the whole time he had spent watching Hayate was because of the adjustment he'd had to make from the white of the snow and grey of the sky outside, to the vampiric den of the Michiyo's.

"Your estate is, something." Tora leaned towards Akari.

"Ah, we get that a lot." Hayate suddenly grabbed Akari's arm and she was harshly escorted into the next room. "Father's waiting for you, dear."

"Something's not right here..." Tora whispered to himself, and then, shortly after, followed the two.

* * *

"Tora, you need to wait in the hall."

Tora was giving Akari a blank look, and then, just as suddenly, he was composed as ever and bowed just slightly.

"Of course."

She really expected him to say more, but that was it. When she turned around Hayate gave her that evil, knowing grin of his and opened the door wide for her, and she stepped inside with as much un-nervous grace as she could muster.

Her father's hair had grayed some more, she noticed, taking the life out of it's light brown swirls. The grey accents in his hair made his daunting silver eyes stand out all the more, even though they were two dull orbs compared to her own fierce silvery-ice-blue depths, now that he was aging. So really, his hair was more silver now, she should say, and his eyes were more dull grey.

Indeed, she agreed with people when they said she looked more like her mother; her mother, with her long, elegant cinnamon-brown hair, her bright blue eyes, her angelic, youthful face. Because her father, was the opposite. A rigid, set, square jaw, bushy eyebrows, an old and regal face. Sure, Akari had her high cheekbones from him, their bone structure in their faces more-or-less the same, though where he had harsh angles, she had her mother's soft, curving slopes.

Suddenly in a moment, old grey eyes met a mixture of blue and silver youth, and they stared at each other in silence as he stood from his seat and maneuvered around the large, thick black desk of his.

"Come here." He ordered monotonously.

She took strong steps forward, not forgetting her courage. That is, until she found herself placed right in front of him. She felt herself tremble slightly as she stared up at him, but ignored it and looked him right in the eye.

"Running away was completely unacceptable."

"If I could politely interject, I didn't run away. I was staying with aunt Tana, if you recall."

"I meant, after that."

"The Igarashi's had the right to take me in. It's in mother's will, if you've read it throu-"

"DON'T speak of Kaori to me!"

Akari made a face at his words, and then proceeded with a persistent approach.

"You can't really still be grieving so deeply that you can't bring her up in conversation, can you?"

"ENOUGH!"

Akari shrunk back slightly, but did not falter.

"No. You need to get over this fact. Please, I'm trying to help you, it's better to accept it than-"

Her father's face was slowly turning a shade of violent violet.

"Akari, don't test me."

She stuck her chin out, but felt as if she were slipping in her heels. On top of that, her body ached from the treatment she'd recieved from _his _messanger last night!

"I apologize. Can we continue this conversation in peace? Why am I here today?"

The man's eyebrows suddenly brushed against each other in a furrow.

"Did Ikehara not relay his message to you properly yesterday?"

"Oh, he did that and then some."

"And just what does that mean?!" He bellowed. Obviously, she had insulted him in some way.

Being the hot head that she is, she continued a bit.

"Your employees, coworkers, underlings- they're not worth what you pay them."

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind, you wouldn't care anyway. You wouldn't mind even if I dropped dead right here and now, actually, I bet."

Very unexpectedly, his voice rose to immeasurable levels.

"GO TO YOUR ROOM IMMEDIATELY."

She blinked at him as he yelled down on her face, inches away, baring his unnaturally square teeth.

"What room? I don't live here anymore."

"So help me god, Akari, I will have Hayate come in here and teach you a lesson if you don't listen to me. You live here now. This discussion is over."

This all happened much too quickly though, it normally took him hours of yelling at her before he reached any conclusion... this had taken only minutes!

"You _planned _this?" She suddenly realized. "From the beginning, you never meant for me to set foot out of this place again if I came to talk with you today!"

"You have a duty to perform h-"

"I owe no further duties to you!"

"DON'T YOU DARE TO INTERRUPT ME!"

"What are you going to do, hit me?! Isn't that Hayate's job?!"

"_I cannot believe_, after all my years of being so fair to you, that you're acting so- so- completely ungra-"

"Fair..."

"What?" He glared down at her, angry at another interruption.

"Fair. Hah, fair. _You couldn't ever be fair to anyone. _I myself, _cannot believe_, that you just said those words. After all the years I've spent living under your rule, you've never once been fair to me! Never _once_! You know what," She looked up at him then, taking in his dull eyes, his reddened face, his greying-brown hair... everything. It angered her so much, so DAMN MUCH. "My mother, might have deserved you long ago. But she did not ever deserve the man you are today."

* * *

The resonating 'SMACK' coming from just past the door is what put a smile on that stupid half-brother's face as Tora stared at him, trying to get a good read on him as they had their short-lived conversation about wealth and family business matters.

Tora watched in calm shock as the other man suddenly pounced towards the doors that they were standing just outside of, excited as a school boy. Then the sound finally registered with him, and he, too, pounced, more panther-like than school-boyishly though.

It was when the doors opened of their own accord, and Akari came rushing out in a fuming fit that the smile switched from Hayate's face to Tora's face as they peered past her into the room.

The old man, presumably Mr. Michiyo, was leaning back against his desk, his hand shaking as it lifted itself up to his face. He was staring at the girl leaving the room as if she'd just shot him instead of only slapping him across the face.

"Hayate."

Tora glanced down at his small prize, and then up at her taller half-brother, and watched as the boy turned with the most surprised and demonic look in his eye Tora had ever seen in a man, and then-

Then the best thing happened.

**_SMACK!_**

Akari slowly let go of her half-brother's tie, allowing him to pull back up to his normal height and rub his cheek in shock.

"That was for all the times you've done the same to me."

Tora snickered gleefully as she grabbed his wrist and yanked him after her down the stairs and across the dark hallways. When they reached the front doors, she didn't even bother to grab her coat or his as she yanked the double set of the heavy wooden doors open with all her might, letting in a massive 'WHOOOSH' of cold air, blowing her hair back and messing up it's curls.

Tora turned swiftly when he heard the footsteps trauncing after them, and when he turned around to see a volcanically angry Hayate behind them, he was quick to hold up a hand, stopping the poor fool only for a moment and giving himself just enough time to nod cordially, grab his and Akari's coats, and smile slyly as he exited the home after Akari, shutting the doors behind him and hurrying his pace to the limousine awaiting him, along with the freezing girl pulling the door open and stepping inside.

_That magnificent bitch._

* * *

Akari was hyperventilating once again. But this time, it was for a good reason. When Tora took a seat across from her in the limo, and the shouting of her half-brother died down as they pulled away from the frozen drive, she looked up at him only to see him gazing at her with half-lidded eyes.

"What?!"

And then he was pressing his wrist to his mouth, trying and failing to suppress his laughter.

"Why did you come in there with me anyway? You didn't need to hear all that!"

"Oh, but you were so entertaining." His eyes seemed to twinkle as he stopped laughing and looked at her with a sly smile.

"Just... shut up, you tiger."

"Does your brother hit you?"

The unexpected question caught her off guard and she looked at him with a look of both horror and shock.

"Wh-what?"

"After you hit him," Tora continued, going on in all seriousness now. "You said something about it being for all the times he'd done the same to you."

She looked down. "It's nothing."

"No, it's something." He insisted in a flat tone, peering out the window for a moment. "Also, I had believed the rumors were true... but I'm guessing what I heard tonight is not anywhere near the worst of it."

"You're talking about my father."

"His habit of screeching like a banshee hasn't been fixed as the press claims."

"You looked into my family matters?!"

He peered at her.

"Why shouldn't I? You live with my family."

"...Not much of it's secret anyway. My family matters..."

He took on a peculiar tone. "No, I suppose it's not, hmm?"

"Just shut up already Iga... T-Tora?"

He had suddenly pulled forward, switching positions in the car until he was no longer placed in the seat across from her, but directly beside her. He put an arm around her carefully and smiled in a sly, content sort of way.

"Eh? You're not pulling away?" He asked after a moment, looking down at her, surprised, when she just 'humfed' and shrunk down in her seat slightly.

"Shut up. It's been a long morning and... and you're warm..."

He blinked and tried to hide his surprise at her words and her blushing face. Did she normally blush like that?

He suddenly smirked.

"Oh, are you cold?" He taunted in his usual arrogant, smooth tone.

"Well... yeah. You forced me to wear this skirt!"

He, too, slunk back into the plush leather and kept his arm loosely around her shoulders. He made no attempt to snuggle closer or lean towards her, and thus, as expected, she tried to inch further into the crook of his arm without him really noticing.

But he did. And he was smiling (on the inside) all the way back to his estate.

When he was sure she was asleep, he looked down at her face, and his own face lost it's blank slate for a moment and he couldn't help but give the tiniest, _tiniest _smile.

But it was soon gone when she looked up at him, apparently not asleep, and peered at him with curious silver-ice eyes.

"Hmf." He pulled his arm back from around her, and stared out the opposite window.

And all the while, Akari watched his profile like that. His solid figure, sure and real and right before her very eyes. The turn of his neck, the line of his jaw, the outline of his nose and lips, the stylish cut of his hair- all of it somehow made her feel... things. In her gut, in her head, in her heart.

It was these quiet, simple moments that neither of them realized, they both liked to enjoy the most.

* * *

**A/N: ...iashi Michiashi Michiashi Michiashi Michiashi Michiashi Michiashi. **

**Eleven times fast. **

**.WHAT-WHAT.**

**(|*.*|)**

**Sooo my entire school came down with Pertussis: "...a highly contagious bacterial disease that causes uncontrollable, violent coughing. The coughing can make it hard to breathe. A deep "whooping" sound is often heard when the patient tries to take a breath..." a.k.a whooping cough. Yeah. It's sooo fun. ****So yes, I have been coughing up the world for the past weekish. It's not painful really- just SUPER annoying. Because you're coughing like a dead person 24/7. But I still go to school and stuff- no point staying home if everyone else already has it too, and if you really aren't in pain. Anywhoozah, so that sucks and stuff, and I'm chowin/suckin on a lemon-honey cough drop right now, so my breath smells like lemony honey. ^_^**

**SPEAKING OF LEMON, when is the lemon chapter coming up you must be wondering, maybe perhaps? Look, at this point, I really don't know. Probably soon. But I'm building up a rivalry that's gonna get pretty heated here soon, so I think some major drama has to take place with that, before the big lemon happens. But, you know, tell me what you think in a review, or PM me, and I'll change it up if you want. Maybe bring the lemon in earlier. I will if you ask, I mean, I'm a writer- I can work my way around and through my story, mold it differently, switch the approach, if it's what my readers want. **

**Hey SPEAKING OF MY READERS, hoohay you people I love you~**

**and your reviews! Review please, please continue to! They touch my heart n' soul! They make me wanna fly! All high up in the sky, this'a rhyme, to pass the time, cuz I talk way out of line, yet it's sublime, you love my lines, being a talkaholic aint no crime!**

**Whoa. I am thoroughly unimpressed. And also a bit embarrassed by my sincerely poor efforts at being normal. **

**Let me conclude with this- **I will never be normal. **Well damn. How awful. Sue me. Bite me. This really sucks. What a shame. There goes my life.**

**Well normal is boring so hah. I win everything. Including your reviews. Review my story. Peasants. Review my story! PEASANTS!**

**~evol fo stoL**

***: KC**

**(something's wrong here... I just don't know what...)**

**P.S- (this will probably become a regular thing now) figurative thumbs up for abnormal people! Annnd another figurative thumbs up for cough drops! :D**

**P.P.S- 'sucker punch': "to strike someone with an unexpected blow" adding a little vocab in yaaaay learning**


	15. Espionage & Abduction

**A/N: If I wrote this entire chapter backwards, would you be able to read it?**

**Don't answer that. Or else I might just rewrite it all backwards because of your silly challenge. **

**Ugh, just so you know people, I AM sorry for not updating super fast. But you know how I said I had pertussis? Well, I don't know what it is anymore, I don't think it's actually pertussis... but whatever it is, it just hit me REALLY hard Thursday night and oh my god... it was _AWFUL_. I had theee worst fever, my body was achy and I could hardly lift a finger. I was so congested and coughing all night long and my eyes were leaking tears for no apparent reason... **

**Yeah, don't get sick this season, whatever you do. Drink water, eat your green veggies, build up your immune system nice and strong. Because, I tell you, sicknesses are really really unpleasant.**

**My mom was talking to me yesterday morning when I was still very under the weather and she said that it's always obvious when I'm sick, because I'm deathly silent and not perky and talkative as I usually am. I laughed with her at that- because I seriously barely spoke a word to anyone during my fever and I was bed-ridden for... all the time. It is very weird for me to not SPEAK or DO. And so, I'm making up for that now.**

**My fever broke yesterday evening (hurray!), and I haven't thrown up in at least 24 hours, so I decided to try sitting up in bed and getting on my laptop. So, here I am, doing that. I'm still sick but I'm actually feeling much better than before so phew- the worst is over! **

**And I dislike doctors, so I didn't end up going to see one, but I got better without any stupid medications sooo haha! Seriously though, all doctors do is take your money and then they just confirm that you are sick. I already KNOW that I am sick, I don't need a person with a stethoscope to tell me that. But still, doctors are nice and all, and no offense to that profession, but I just don't like seeing them. It's not that they creep me out- I just hate how they have to get all up in your personal space and they're asking you all these questions and you already feel horrible so you're just like: SHUT UP, I just wanna go home and lie on the couch, stop saying all these big words that I don't understand, get that thing out of my ear, *gag* why the hell did I have to say 'Ahh'? Seriously what's with the thing in my ear? What's with you wanting to feel me up like that? Get off of me!**

**Yeah... that's normally my thought process when I go to the doctors office... I don't actually SAY all that, but, you know... I'm thinking it.**

**Anyway, enough of my complaining and my talks of sicknesses, that's all super lame and uninteresting. Let's get on with the story! :D**

_Espionage: the use of spies by a corporation or the like to acquire the plans, technical knowledge, etc., of a competitor; the act or practice of spying_

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen. Espionage & Abduction**

"You know what I think?" Aika said, pointing her chopsticks straight at the group. "I think that your ideas are all stupid, and mine rocks."

Seiji chuckled to himself, patting Ryunnosuke's arm.

"Quite the girl you've got there." He teased the other boy, who laughed a little as well.

"HEY! Just so you know, he loves me perfectly fine-"

"Just the way you are." Ryunnosuke gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, making the girl giggle before quickly refocusing her attention on a strangely silent Akari.

"What's your deal?" The girl asked, peering at her friend with a skeptic gaze.

"Huh? Oh, I dunno." Akari smiled a little. "I've been too quiet, huh?"

"Yeah. Were you even listening to me?"

"Honestly, no."

"HEY!"

Seiji laughed as Aika fumed to herself, and then he bumped shoulders with Akari.

"You seem down. What's up?" He asked, smiling easily at her.

"Oh, I'm just... worried."

"Worried?" Aika spurted out, spilling a bit of the food as her lunch box wobbled. "I thought smacking your family around made you feel better!"

"It did at first!" Akari said, and she suddenly regretted telling them the story of what happened on Saturday. Well, they kind of forced it out of her, though. "But now I'm really worrying about what I did... my actions were really rash and I didn't think things through at all. What if- something- happens?"

Seiji put a hand on her head and she made a startled sound and looked up at him.

"Well, there's no use worrying about it so much now. What's done is done, you know?" He smiled again, and she relaxed a little bit as he began to ruffle her hair.

"Hey, enough already. You're too damn stressed out all the time." Aika said, pulling Akari away from Seiji and to her side. "You know what you need? A visit to my house!"

Both boys groaned at the comment.

"But we have plans after school." Ryunnosuke openly complained, though his girlfriend was already pulling Akari to her feet with her.

"And no offense Aika, but your family's kind of crazy." Seiji said, giving Akari a sympathetic look.

"Sorry, sisters before misters!" Aika said, winking at Ryunnosuke, who looked crest-fallen. "And nonsense- my family's the best!"

And with that, Akari had no choice but to be pulled along by an excited and determined Aika, unsure if she should be worried even more now or not, as the bell rang for the end of lunch.

Truth be told, she should probably be worried even more now.

* * *

"Yes, school's out!"

Suddenly, the long-haired, pretty-faced music-lover was in front of Akari's face, smiling happily.

"So, I guess we're going to your house?" Akari said, though she threw Seiji a 'help me' look as he exited the classroom.

"Yup! Lezgo!"

And no less than a minute later, they were proceeding towards Akari's awaiting black limo.

"Just tell the driver to go." Aika said, waving her hands dismissively. "My house is right down the street, we can walk."

Akari nodded and hurried around through the cold air to the driver's window. It rolled down promptly when she knocked on it, and a man she'd never noticed before peered at her through black shades, though the sun wasn't bright enough for him to need the shades.

"Um, I'm headed to a friend's house. You can return to the estate without me."

The man gave a curt nod, and then the window rolled itself back up.

Akari walked around the car and back to her friend, who was examining her nails as she waited.

"Ah, so you're good? Let's head off then!" Aika said, slipping her arm through Akari's and hurrying her down the sidewalk.

Akari didn't think to look back behind her, as the eccentric friend next to her made her feel a little less worried and she had slowly begun to relax. But, if she had chosen to look back, she would have caught the black car idling too long at the curb, and then, slowly, as it peeled away, she'd have seen it slowly turned after them, following from behind...

* * *

"There are two kinds of people in the world Maki." Tora said, slapping down the stack of reports on his desk and then uncrossing his legs and leaning forward. "The type who _think_ but don't _do_, and the type who _do_ but don't _think_. What type do you think miss Michiyo is?"

Maki's calm, collective voice was as familiar and simple as always as he replied; "Could she be both, perhaps?"

Tora placed his hands together as he leaned forward, eyes pinpointing the edge of the table as he chuckled lowly at his vice president's response and a cunning smile came to his face.

"Perhaps."

A sudden ringing filled the air, and Maki peered on politely, standing before Tora's desk as the other boy reached into his pocket, pulled out a phone, and answered the call.

"Ah, Mr. Michiyo." Tora said into the phone after listening for a moment. "I was expecting you to call sooner or later."

Maki's eyebrows raised slightly as the call went on.

"No, that is something you'll have to take up with my father."

Tora's voice suddenly became less personable and more stern.

"That's being a bit unreasonable."

Maki leaned forward slightly, trying to catch the angry voice on the other end of the phone. Tora peered at him for a moment, then went back to focusing on the call.

"I hardly think that's fair to your daughter." Then, Tora was laughing. "Plus, she wouldn't do it."

Maki watched on as Tora's face suddenly went slack, and then changed to being unforgivably cold.

"Oh, I apologize sir, in advance. But I can't allow that to happen. You see, it isn't up to me to-"

There seemed to be an explosion on the other end of the line.

"Could you please lower your voice, I can't make out what it is that you're saying."

Maki leaned back again as Tora spun in his chair to slowly face the window behind him.

"...I see." He sighed. "Very well. Do what you must, I assume you've already taken action even before this call. One last thing before I go, then-"

Suddenly, Tora was standing up, and he slowly walked to the window and placed one hand in his pocket as he peered out at the snowy afternoon. Maki watched the President's strong shoulders tense up before he spoke again.

"Mr. Michiyo..." And then Tora's shoulder's suddenly relaxed, and he let out a irritated sigh. "Thank you for calling."

When the blonde young man held the phone away from his ear and pressed the end call button with a decisive 'click', he smirked to the day outside the long window as he thought things through for a moment.

"Kanade."

"Yes, President?"

Tora turned his body slightly away from the window, both hands in his pockets now as he grinned toothily at the other boy, a bright glint in his golden eyes.

"Let's go get her."

* * *

"...And this is my family! My mom Ayane, my dad Fumio, my youngest brother Hibiki, and my sisters Kotone, Setsuko, and Wakana."

Akari stared at the beautiful faces before her. They were all smiling and looked more-or-less like Aika. The three young women who were her sisters all looked alike, except one of them looked older than Aika and the other two looked younger. Their mother looked just about as young as they did, as did their father, and the one brother looked young too, no older than fourteen. Their family was truly the picture of beauty and youth. She couldn't imagine why Seiji thought they were crazy-

"Hey!" Aika suddenly called out. "Where's Suichi?"

One of the younger girls rolled her eyes and popped on some headphones.

"Don' ask me!" She yelled a little too loudly as she brought out her own ipod and started playing music.

"Well, I want him to meet Akari too!"

"Why? He's so dull." The other younger sister said, and then she grabbed Akari's hand suddenly, jerking her down to her level.

"Ah!" Akari had no choice but to be pulled down so the petite girl could whisper a bit loudly in her ear.

"He's a little crazy."

And then she pulled away and placed some ear buds in her ears, heading towards the cough and plopping on it next to her brother, who was sitting reading some sort of book or notebook.

"Hibiki!"

The boy suddenly looked up.

"Huh?" He asked, his bright brown eyes blinking with long lashes that startled Akari.

"You know where Suichi is?"

"Probably in his room, as always."

Aika suddenly slapped a hand to her head.

"OF COURSE HE IS! Duh..."

And suddenly she marched off, leaving Akari alone with everyone.

The father suddenly peered up from the binder he was holding in his hands.

"So, you're Akari Michiyo?"

Akari blinked.

"Yeah."

He adjusted his glasses and smiled politely.

"Nice to finally meet you. I glad I have work off on Mondays- otherwise I would have missed you coming over this afternoon."

"Aika talks a lot about you." The mother suddenly said, though she seemed too busily indulged sitting at the piano writing something to really converse with them.

"Aika talks a lot in general." Hibiki suddenly murmured, and Akari looked over to notice that he was scribbling down on sheet music.

Okay, who were these people, the next Mozart generation?!

"And she's also told us how rich you are." One of the sisters commented, and Akari looked over to see that it was the oldest one. The girl peered strangely at her, like the day when Aika first met her after finding out she was rich. "Filthy, rich."

So that's who Aika got it from.

"Here he is! I finally pulled him out of his lair."

Abruptly, a young man was pushed into the room, Aika following behind him. He stumbled for a moment, a few notepads in his hands and a pen at his ear, and then he was standing up straight and shooting his sister behind him a scowl.

"You don't have to shove me. I would have come if you called."

"I did call!"

"Then I might have come if you at least explained the situation."

"Suichi, don't be rude." The father suddenly called out. "We have a guest. And that goes for all you kids, actually. Be a bit kinder, would you?"

The young man suddenly turned to face Akari for the first time, adjusting his glasses (he looked a lot like their father) as he gave her a quick one-over with the same brown eyes he shared with his little brother and Aika. He looked like the oldest of all his siblings.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." He said, giving her a nod but not extending his hand, due to the collection of notebooks he had in his arms. And then, he turned back to blink at Aika, who was mocking his words behind his back and making faces. He only sighed at her expression. "Can I get back to work now?"

"Sure thing, ya nerd." And she gave him a shove towards the door. "Thanks for meeting my friend!"

Akari sighed and shook her head. This was going to be a long afternoon...

Behind everyone's heads, a flash of a person's face moved by the window, going unnoticed by the occupants in the home.

* * *

Tora stepped up to the door of the house in front of him, raising one hand and knocking while he looked around in the slightest bit of appreciation.

It was larger than he expected, and prettier. Though it didn't even amount to the grand beauty and impressiveness of his own home.

A short, dark-brunette-haired girl answered the door, yawning slightly before looking at him with widening eyes and giving him an approving look.

"Hi."

"Hello." Tora gave her his best, award-winning, heart-throb smile.

She took the headphones off her ears and left them around her neck, looking up into his eyes in both startled awe and curiosity.

"Are you here looking for someone, or are you lost, or something? Mr.-?"

"Igarashi."

A face he faintly recognized appeared suddenly behind the younger girl, the long, curling black hair swinging slightly, the honey-colored streaks in the strands glinting in the fading afternoon light as she pushed the door open and glared over her younger sibling's head, at Tora, her voice ice-cold.

"I remember you."

"Yes, we've met, haven't we?" He smiled, but with pointed teeth showing that glinted along with his golden eyes as they blinked.

"You know this guy Aika?"

"Jeez, Wakana, could you please just mind your own business?"

The younger girl grumbled, placed the headphones back over her ears, and left the two to stand staring each other down.

"I don't like you. Why're you here?" Aika said, folding her arms over her chest as she stood in the doorway.

"I'm looking for Akari and have been informed she was last seen with you."

"Sorry, she's not here. In fact, you just missed her."

His smirk suddenly left his face and his gaze intensified.

"Could you explain?"

"She left with some guy in a limo. Told me it was important and she had to go." The girl shrugged.

"Could you explain _better_?" He snarled, getting impatient with her attitude.

Aika's eyes narrowed.

"You know, what's in it for me?" She smirked this time at him.

He stepped a bit closer, as close as he could without entering the house. She took a step back, but he gripped her wrist tightly.

"Hey-"

"The satisfaction that your friend is safe."

Her eyes widened as she stared at him, listening to his words. Then, just as quickly, he let go of her wrist, turning his back on her.

"Nevermind. I've gotten enough of the information I'll need." He began to swiftly walk towards the limo waiting at the curb for him, throwing up an arm over his head but not turning around to look back at her. "Have a nice night."

And he left the girl to stand in the doorway, watching him as he got into his car, staring on in shock as he shut the door and the sleek limousine drove away out of sight.

"That rich bastard makes me uneasy." A voice said behind her.

Aika spun around, facing her older sister.

"Kotone! How long have you been standing there?"

"I was just listening in from the next room."

"...He is a bastard, huh?"

Her sister scoffed.

"Hell yeah!"

The two laughed together mockingly, but as Aika shut the door, she couldn't help but give one last glance up the street, wondering if Akari was going to be alright...

* * *

"You know, your brother sent me because he was sure he might kill you if he saw you alone."

All she could do was sit back in the seat of the car, looking out the window as they drove around, seemingly in circles in an area she didn't quite recognize to her mind. Or didn't want to.

"I suppose there's a point for you dragging me around with you, Mr. Ikehara? Get to it."

He tsk'd at her.

"My my, someone's a bit uncomfortable. Maybe I could-"

She turned on him quickly and slapped his reaching hands away.

"Touch me again and I can assure you things won't turn out in your favor."

He leaned back in his seat, smoothing his hands over his suit and looking a bit too pleased with himself.

"Alright then. For now, I'll leave you alone."

"So, you've been spying on-"

"Sorry to interrupt," He said (man, that got on her nerves) and leaned forward again. "But to skip over the fact that yes, indeed, we were spying on you-"

"We?"

"-you asked me to get to the point, and so..." He turned, calling through the glass divider to the driver. "Are we to the estate yet?"

"Yes, sir." Came the curt answer through the glass.

"...You kidnapped me?" Akari said, staring blankly at the man sitting in front of her.

He chuckled darkly, then looked her up and down in an unsettling way, his eyes lingering on her like duct tape that couldn't be ripped off quick enough.

"Oh you're hardly a kid anymore, miss..."

"Then you've abducted me."

"I'm following orders, but I suppose you would be one to call it that."

"I'm only calling it what it truly is."

"No," He said, leaning forward to stare right into her eyes. "you know what it really truly is? It's _bringing you home_."

* * *

"President, is that a limo in your drive?"

Tora looked up to look out the window and peer with narrowed eyes at the limousine, not belonging to him, that was resting with the lights on in the dimming day, a trail of smoke pouring out of the exhaust and into the cool, chilly air.

"How did it get past the gate?" Maki pondered aloud.

"Because Akari's with them." Tora said, and as they pulled up after the other limo, he got out of the car at just the same time that Akari stepped out of the other car as well.

She turned for a moment to lean down and speak with someone through the open door, and then the door was pulled shut and the limo drove off. Tora stalked towards her quickly, his long legs carrying him to her in less than five steps.

When he stopped directly in front of her, he watched after the disappearing limo with a look of displeasure, and then he felt her eyes on him and looked down at her.

"I convinced him to take me back here." She said quietly, immediately looking away from him as his eyes found hers.

"Don't look so uneasy to see me." He said, staring at her with a calm, unreadable face. "Especially when I've been looking for you half the day."

"Did you know about this?"

Tora was quiet for a moment, and then he was quick to reply.

"Not until today."

"He was taking me to my father's estate."

"Who?"

"Ikehara."

Tora clenched his fists, but other than that he held back._  
_

"You negotiated with him, then. He's not a man to just do as anyone asks."

She nodded, still not looking at him.

"Akari."

"President."

The both of them looked over at Maki, who was standing politely beside the car.

"Now that we've found her, I'll be heading out."

"Yes-" Tora waved a hand. "Thank you, Kanade."

When Maki got back in the limo and the door shut, Tora turned back to Akari, only to find that she had already walked past him and was walking away from him towards the mansion.

"Akari!"

She didn't stop, but quickened her pace. She was obviously upset, but he hurried to catch up with her, gripping her arm when she wouldn't stop.

"Ignoring an Igarashi is always a bad idea." He whispered in her ear, and she stopped struggling in his grip and leaned back against him suddenly.

It was only for a moment though, and then she stood up straight again and tried yanking her arm from his grasp, though he only used the force to turn her around to face him, still not letting go.

His eyes widened, big, golden orbs staring down upon wet silver ones.

She was... crying.

And he wasn't really sure of what to do. Not with her, at least.

"I'm almost sure of what's going to happen." She said quietly, not sobbing as most girls would, but simply lowering her voice to an almost inaudible volume. "And I really, really don't want it to happen..."

Tora could only stare at her as she sniffled and silent tears streamed out of those silvery depths. In the darkened evening, with the snowy lawn around them illuminating things in a shiny grey-white glow, the tear drops shown clear and bright for his eyes to see. It was almost as if they mocked him, or were daring him- daring him to make a fool out of himself for her sake and do something stupid like-

He wrapped both his arms around her, and her head automatically ducked onto his chest as she continued to cry. He held his arms at her back all too gently for someone like him to be holding someone, and he knew he himself was showing weakness just for providing a warm gesture.

But as she cried into his coat while he simply stayed silent like that, staring straight ahead of him over her head, he couldn't find any way to care in that moment how weak he appeared.

Tora had no words to say, his lips pulled into a serious, straight line as he pulled back from her, unbuttoned his coat, and placed it over her shoulders. His eyes had a dull, unreadable look in them and they didn't find hers to reassure, because he couldn't reassure her when she looked like that. He couldn't even find one single word to come out of his mouth. And so, he simply left the coat around her shoulders, paused for a moment, and then walked past her, placing his hands in his pockets and staring at the ground as he walked towards the house in the fading light, with her standing in his coat behind him and staring after him as he briskly pulled himself away.

* * *

**A/N: Woot woot! Over 2,000 viewers now! Yes!**

**Hey, hey you. Yeah, yeah, you. The end of this chapter was for those of you who are 'fangirling over the cute moments' ;) wink. Ahh, the classic 'he gives her his coat' gesture. Hey, it's not a cliché if no matter how many times it's done, it's still pretty damn adorable. **

**-Just a quick add-in here that's a fun little thing I did with Aika and her family's names: Aika means love song. Her sister's names: Wakana means 'harmonious music', Setsuko means 'melody child', and Kotone means 'sound of the koto' (the japanese harp). The youngest brother's name, Hibiki, means 'sound, echo'. Their mother's name, Ayane, means 'colorful sound.' The father's name, Fumio, means 'literature, scholarly hero' and the oldest brother's name, Suichi, means 'disciplined, studious first son'-**

**Here are some backwards ways to say things that I find completely strange. **

**cheese and mac, ****thank you and please, ****down and up, ****yellow and black, ****Ernie and Bert, ****Queen and King, ****dogs and cats, ****dad and mom, down and up, tomorrow or today, no and yes**

**yeah I'm done now so-**

**Catch you later viewers~**

**Also, I just wanted to say: thank you for your reviews and for telling me how much you enjoy my story, I really appreciate the support and the active commentary. Please continue to review and tell me what you think :) I thoroughly love to hear what anyone has to say**

**:* CK**

******(psst, remember to WEIVER, or ETIROVAF this story ;) **

******P.S- figurative thumbs up for backwardness! (!ssendrawkcab)**

******P.S.S- for pokemon fans: did you know that backwards, Ekans = Snake and Arbok = Cobra (with a K instead of a C) ^_^ I love it. just some random backwards information :)**


	16. The Catch-22

**A/N: I don't want to die. **

**If you read the reviews for my story, you would understand why I am saying this.**

**Therefore, since I would hate dying anytime soon, I will try my best to update faster.**

**Also, it has occurred to me to make a valid point. If you killed me for not updating faster, then I would never be able to update again. **

**You would forever suffer an eternity of an unfinished story with no more updates. **

**Therefore, you should not kill me.**

**[ And after proving her sensible, well-established point, the author lived a long and happy life. The end. :D ]**

_Catch-22: a situation in which a person is frustrated by a paradoxical rule or set of circumstances that preclude any attempt to escape from them; a situation in which any move that the person can make will lead to trouble_

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen. The Catch-22**

Akari showered. She ate the breakfast she asked the maids to bring to her room. Then she dressed herself and did her hair.

And now, she stared at the screen of her phone with the number she'd punched into it in the limo last night. The name associated with the number read: Ikehara.

Sighing, she drew a deep breath, counted down from ten to one in her head, and pressed the CALL button. The man picked up his phone almost immediately.

"Miss Michiyo! How lovely to finally have _you_ be the one contacting _me_."

She ignored his creepy attitude and proceeded with what needed to be done.

"Have you talked with my father, Mr. Ikehara?"

"I have indeed, miss." His voice took on an unpleasantly dark tone. "I have indeed."

"And?"

"It would seem that there are two ways he would like to do this."

"...You didn't tell him what I wanted, did you?"

"Now I'm not saying I did tell him, but I'm also not saying I didn't _try_ to tell him." She could swear, she heard him snickering. "He... was in a rather peevish mood."

"My father," Akari said. "Is always in some sort of 'mood'. I don't care about that as much as I don't care about what you had for breakfast. I simpl-"

"Broiled fish and steamed rice."

Akari, shocked at the fact that he had just described his breakfast to her, paused for a moment to hate him even more now.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Ikehara, is this a bad time for me to have called? You don't seem to be taking me too seriously." Her tone was hard and she tried to keep her annoyance at bay.

Tried to.

"Ahh, Miss Michiyo, you're always such a... delight."

"I could tell you the opposite."

"See here," His voice suddenly turned hard and rough. "I am some years older than you and should be treated with the respect I deserve."

"Sir, you obviously don't hold even an ounce of respect for me either." Her tone was ice cold now. "You proved that in your actions before."

"Oh, you would like to bring that up again?" His voice held a suggestion that she winced at, gripping the phone tighter.

"Nevermind. I did not contact you to have an argument. Tell me my father's terms."

"But miss, you just brought up a rather intriguing topic-"

"Tell me my father's terms or I'm hanging up."

"...Very well." His voice was unpleasant, a sneer, that was once again dark and left her shivering. "He wants you to move back into the estate still... and he has gone to, thus far, small extents to make you do so. But he's now become impatient and there is only so much time he says he can waste on you and your stubbornness. So, I present to you two options." She could practically feel him smiling on the other end. "Option one. You return to the estate, appear at the welcoming party that will be held in your honor, and say exactly what he wants you to say to the press about your little- disappearance. You return to living your old life and return to being a proper Michiyo resident and family member. You will drop out of Seika High and enroll at Miyabigoka, as originally planned."

"I refus-"

"Option two." He cut her off, continuing. "You refuse the first option and continue staying with the Igarashi's. Keep going to your... little school, and forget your father's orders." He paused, but she said nothing during the silence, expecting correctly for there to be more. "...But there are repercussions that will effect you and others if you chose this option, I'm afraid."

"I suspected as much, from father." She sighed. "What are th-"

"Your friends, will have their lives be made difficult for them. Your teachers and the high school you attend, will be thrown out of business. Good people will lose their jobs, and families will be torn apart. And if that isn't enough-" He paused, as if to let the drama unfold painfully slow for her. "You will be forcibly taken back, regardless of your objections or personal opinion."

She slowly sunk into silence. That was a lot, even for someone like her father. Maybe, though, he had gotten worse than she had thought over the years... he was so changed from the father he used to be, no, now she just had to come to terms with the truth.

Her father was a ferocious business man who would do everything to always get his way of things and keep his empire running right. And no matter how stubborn she was, that wouldn't change him. No matter how much she hated to bow out and follow someone else's orders, she couldn't defy her father anymore, when he was going to take things to such extremes as she'd just heard over the phone.

Akari Michiyo had never had a choice to begin with.

"When will I be picked up?"

Mr. Ikehara was so obviously smiling on the other end of that phone call. "I'm already on my way."

* * *

Still a ways away from the Igarashi estate, Mr. Kichiro Ikehara sat in his limousine with a sure look about him. He hung up the phone in his hand and flipped through the contacts, stopping his scrolling and hitting the call button before holding the phone to his ear.

"Sir, this is Kichiro Ikehara... I have good news."

Across town, inside the Michiyo estate and sitting in his office, Mr. Michiyo smiled into the receiver and listened to the next words he heard with smug satisfaction.

"She has accepted your terms."

* * *

Akari turned around, her phone grasped loosely in her hand as her mind spun and she dug her toes into the carpet. She opened and closed her mouth, about to say something reassuring to herself, but at the last second realizing there was nothing that could reassure her now.

Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of the couch sitting just ahead of her. A jacket was rested across the armrest of it, a white one that looked anything but like it belonged in her own room.

Stepping towards the sofa, she looked down at the rich, thick cloth, unsure of where it had come from for a moment. Picking it up between her hands, her spinning mind suddenly went blank.

And then a word crossed her wiped mind. A name.

_Igarashi. _

_Tora Igarashi._

Bringing the coat with her, she turned off the lights and left her room, dropping her phone behind her in the dark.

* * *

Tora was pulling on a pair of pants when he heard the knock come at his bedroom door. Turning his head towards the door in slight surprise, he allowed his hands to finish their task of zipping up and buttoning his slacks before ambling towards the door with that light, smooth step of his.

He opened the door and stared down at the girl in front of him with a lowered gaze.

"Hi."

He looked her up and down.

"That's my coat." He gestured with his eyes to the white coat in her hands, leaning against the door frame as he opened his door wider, to give her the better view of his bare chest.

He watched her eye him for a moment, and smirked when her eyes finally met his own.

"I know. You gave it to me last night, I wanted to return it."

His eyebrows arched.

"Really? I don't remember doing that."

Her gaze suddenly turned cold, all too fast.

"Well, did you get drunk sometime later on in the night then?" Her tone was harsh.

He peered at her closer. Her face was washed clean, in fact, her whole body smelled of something fresh, like ginger, or mint. Something like a spice or herb. Her hair was waved as always and pulled up into a short ponytail, and she donned an outfit of jeans and a sweater, as usual. But something was off. He could sense it hanging in the air with her sudden presence like smoke rising to his nose.

And he, being himself and doing what he does best, would sniff out all the dirty details, eventually finding out whatever it was.

Smiling, he opened the door wider for her.

"No, I'm not one that can easily forget things while under the influence of alcohol. Come in."

She thrust the coat forwards and into his bare chest.

"I'd rather not. Here's your coat, Igarashi."

He peered down at the fabric pressing against his skin, and then up at her face.

"That wasn't an offer."

She had just enough time to look up at him before he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the room with him, slamming the door behind them.

"I don't have time for your games-" She tried to say.

Tora pressed her up against the wall and pinned her there with his hands, staring down at her with a lazy smile and a glint in his eye.

"Akari. It's rude to make the trip to my bedroom and not even come in for a- chat." His smile grew into a smirk as she stared up at him with narrowed silver eyes.

"You're really idiotic."

"It's cute when you tell me what you think of me. But let's try another word, like-" He suddenly spun her around, pulling her back into his chest and tucking a wisp of her hair behind her ear. "Charming?"

She struggled in his grasp, but he only pulled her to him closer.

"Charming," She huffed indignantly. "Is hardly what I was thinking."

He grinned, his sharp, white teeth poking out with a malicious sort of allure at her words.

* * *

Akari could feel his smile against her neck when he whispered with a silken tone in her ear.

"What do you think of me, I wonder?"

She tried leaning forward, away from him, but he had her pressed against his chest and stuck there. She couldn't help but notice, he smelled nice, like fresh sheets and silk and... warmth. Nothing like the strong smells that enveloped him when he was all dressed up for the day, it was nothing like his arrogant colognes or the bitter-sweet scent of wine that often came with him. Nothing like the strong, musky scent that normally emitted from him. No- his current scent was fresh, and new- like the morning.

He breathed against her neck, making her eyelids flutter for a moment.

"Igarashi. Stop."

"I asked you a question, Michiyo."

"What is wrong with you today? Last night you were-"

"Ah, you see, the way questions work is-" His teeth grazed her skin. "When I ask them, I expect an answer."

She turned herself around in his arms, and tried looking for something in his eyes, a sign, or really just a way out. But they were like cold, cool, unyielding walls that one couldn't break through without losing oneself in the golden-yellow depths.

His gaze suddenly lowered on hers, zeroing in on it's target.

"Now, shall I ask again? Perhaps," He cooed. "you had not heard me the first time." He leaned forward, pressing his chest to her own and holding her lower back with a hand. "What do you think of me?"

Her breath hitched for a moment, and in that moment, with his gaze locked on hers, everything became silent. She reached up with a hand and gripped his bare shoulder, as if to push him off of her, but to both of their surprise she ended up pulling him closer, until he had ducked down low enough for her lips to be placed at his ear.

"I think nothing of you."

* * *

They broke away together, him letting go of her and her stepping back. Tora stared down at her, his face pulled into a solemn, plain sort of look that he knew she couldn't read into. Though maybe she could feel something in the air, something in the atmosphere that had changed around them, like he could.

"I'm going back to my father's estate today." She said briskly, taking another step back.

He already knew that though. He knew that that was what had been wrong with her. He looked down at her hands, noticing that she was shaking a little bit, and chose to turn his back on her. He smiled, making sure it made it's way into his tone, so that she _knew._

So that she knew that she hadn't in the least had any effect on him.

"Don't look so disappointed." He said, walking towards the wardrobe and pulling out a silken shirt. He peered over his shoulder at her with a smirk, and said very slowly; "We'll be seeing each other soon enough at your party, won't we?"

He could have laughed as the realization donned on her face. So, she was a smart girl.

"You talked. You and Ikehara."

He slipped each arm into the shirt sleeves, smoothly, languidly, as if it was a careful art. He smiled and turned to face her, hips switching to one side to lean against the wardrobe as he crossed his arms over his half-covered chest.

"I might've known the whole time." He said vaguely, causing her to give him a strong look of burning anger that he lapped up with pleasure.

"You're despicable."

He watched her as she turned, heading towards the door to his room, and opened it. Not stopping her as she was about to exit, but simply keeping his smirk widespread as she turned her head back to glare at him before leaving. And just as the door was about to shut-

"Akari."

The door was at a crack, but he could clearly tell she was still standing behind it. Straightening up, he smoothly walked towards the door until he was pressed to the other side of it, and put his lips at the edge of the opening.

"Thank you for my coat." He said deeply, and smiled when the door slammed shut and he could hear her stomping down the hall.

* * *

Understanding Tora Igarashi was like trying to make sense of the world's most annoying, incredible-yet-intolerable work of art. It might be beautiful, but harshly so. It might seem all mysterious, but it's annoyingly so. And it's pretty damned amazing- in the most aggravating of ways. His motives were like a work of art within a work of art within a puzzle. Doesn't make sense? Are you confused? GOOD. That's what the boy wants!

See, now Akari was just confusing herself. Her mind was in tangles of thoughts that were so mixed up it was like listening to a tape recording backwards in her head. She could make no sense of it anymore- of her own thoughts! Because of HIM!

"Damn that aggravating bastard!" She said, nearing her room and opening the door and pushing her way inside, fuming.

Last night, he had sort of warmly embraced her, which was strange enough as that was. She even believed him when he told her he'd been searching for her all day. But why, she had later wondered? What were his motives? Why would he go so far if he just wanted to fuck her? Why was he so... unsettling? Well, he was always unsettling. But even more so when he'd do one thing, and say another. Or say one thing, and then do another. For god's sake- he'd given her his coat last night when she was crying! Wasn't that a warm gesture? But then today... he was acting so completely infuriating.

Groaning, she collapsed on the couch, unable to make it to her bed. This life, was impossible. Living with him. Maybe it was a good thing she was going home?

An image of a hand marking her face, that feeling of a fist hitting her in the stomach, suddenly flashed through her. Curling up her legs, she held the nearest pillow in her arms and put her face in it. No, no. Going home would be much worse than dealing with whatever confusing mind games Tora was playing on her.

Pulling the pillow away, she took in a deep breath of air and then realized something.

She would rather stay with Tora, than take any other choice, really. Did that... mean anything? A girl had to wonder.

But not right now. Right now, she had to worry and think about more important things. Because her phone was ringing in her pocket, and when she answered it the voice that spoke to her clearly said;

"I just pulled up to the estate, Miss Michiyo. Meet me at the front doors."

* * *

Akari wasn't dressed up to her most elegant extent, but needless to say, she knew how she looked right now- especially so after she saw Mr. Ikehara staring at her with a look of stunned surprise as she made her way towards him, the maids following her with her bags.

"You look lovely in a skirt, I regret not telling you that the last time we met."

"I was wearing my school uniform the last we met." She replied dully, her eyes landing on the buttons of his suit. She refused to meet such a foul person's gaze- her mind was fighting the thoughts of what he had done to her in her bathroom that night...

She shuddered at the thought.

"A skirt is a skirt. Though I have to say sweetheart, I liked your uniform better. The skirt was shorter."

Akari turned around when he reached out a hand, the elegant ruffles of her skirt following with her. Under her breath, she muttered, "You're despicable."

"Now that's no way to treat a guest, Akari-san."

She froze. That voice- that sultry, deep, inviting voice had to be...

And how the hell had he heard her anyway, it's not like he was standing next to her!

All eyes turned upward as Tora came down the stairs in all his freshly suave glory. He donned a dark sweater and perfectly pressed khaki pants, but like everything else he put on, he didn't just wear the clothes, he seemed to make them emit an aura of both power, and charismatic, gentlemanly courtesy. But mainly power.

She watched him as his golden eyes switched from smirking at her, to staring politely over her at Mr. Ikehara. "I'd apologize for her attitude, but it would seem, given the current events, I won't be the one needing to apologize for her sake anymore."

Behind her, Ikehara laughed, a short bark that was somehow left behind a fading echo with it. "Yes, she'll have to remember her manners from now on."

Hating it when people talk about you as if you're not in the room with them, when in fact you are, Akari spun around to confront the man behind her.

"I know-"

"Akari-san."

Slowly, she turned back to Tora. He was descending the stairs, a single hand displayed on the banister as he moved downwards, and he looked so regal and all-perfect that even she couldn't speak for a moment. The lighting bounced off his golden hair, making it shine almost liquid-blonde, and his eyes seemed to spark as his long legs made his way down, closer to them, across the carpeted stairs. When he came to the bottom and landed on the marble floors, he stared directly at her, and his eyes looked as if they were hiding some big secret from her.

That look annoyed her to a rather huge extent. That secretive, alluring, nearly hypnotic I-know-something-you-don't look. It drove her mad.

"What is it, Tora-_san_." She used the same honorific as he had, though she wasn't one to use them and she hated the way it sounded for some reason.

Almost as if he sensed her discomfort, he smiled. It was a dazzling smile to anyone who didn't know any better- but she knew better, and so to her, there was an obvious hidden malice behind his sparkling teeth and bright eyes. Her brow creased as he began to take slow, sure steps towards her.

Though, when he reached her, all he did was set his eyes on her for not even a full second, and then his gaze flickered right on past her as if she wasn't there.

* * *

"Kichiro-kun," Tora gently settled his hand on the other man's shoulder. "Would you accompany me alone for a moment?"

Their eyes met, and though Tora's were challenging and bright, his smile sourly sweet like always, the other young man nodded and gave his own measured smile.

"But of course. We'll have to make is short though." He glanced at Akari, who was standing quietly, watching them with her bright, careful eyes. "I'll soon be accompanying the lady back to her home."

Tora narrowed his eyes on Akari for only a split second as well, taking note of the other man's sly tone, and then, with the hand placed on Kichiro's shoulder, led him into the next room with him.

When they were standing behind a set of closed double doors, Tora spun on his heels to face the other man, his smile brightening a bit too much as his eyes took in the older, distrustful business man.

"I think it goes without saying," He said carefully, not wasting a word on this idiot standing before him. "That she is off limits. At all times."

Kichiro began to chuckle, which made Tora's smile turn into a sneer.

"I'm sorry, pardon my laughter but-" He glared at Tora, but his smile was still plastered to his face. "Does she have some sort of name card on her that says she belongs to you? I haven't noticed one."

"She doesn't belong to me. I simply... own her."

The other man gave him a puzzled look. "I would call that the same thing."

"Believe me, it isn't."

Tora watched on as Kichiro folded his arms across his chest, leaning backwards against the wall. "Oh?" He quirked one dark eyebrow.

"She isn't a belonging. If she were simply a belonging, she could belong to anyone. But," Tora smiled, a single dagger of a tooth sticking out as his lips parted. "When I alone own her, that's a whole other concept."

"What is she to you then? If not a 'belonging'."

"A prize." Tora's reply was immediate and he straightened up, looking sure of himself, yet his tone suggested he was bored already with their conversation.

Kichiro smiled.

"I'm afraid prizes can be stolen, Igarashi."

"That doesn't worry me," Tora smirked at the other man. "I've already won her anyway."

"If you are so sure you've won such a prize, then why am I the one leaving your home with her coming with me?"

Tora did not falter. "That's a minor setback I can use to my advantage." He waved it off with a hand, his tone plain and dismissive. "Plus, it'll be easier to keep track of her with her now attending my school."

"You haven't completely claimed her yet, have you?"

Tora looked up at this, eyes narrowing.

"What do you mean by that?"

Kichiro started laughing. "Please, you're a smart boy. You of course, know what it is I'm talking about."

"Of course I do. What I'm saying is, what makes you so sure I haven't conquered her yet?"

Turning towards the door, the other man seemed to signify their little chat was over.

"Why else would you still be so interested in her?"

And with those words, he started to push open the doors, only to be stopped by a hand around his wrist. He looked up the arm of the hand until he met the face before him, all golden hair and yellow eyes, burning now in ferocity that almost made him wince.

Just as suddenly as Tora grabbed the man he released him, stepping back and straightening his sweater. He glanced at Kichiro and smiled, a certain glint displayed in his eyes that the other man couldn't quite grasp.

"You're right. Why else would I be interested in her, I wonder?"

The words were said with a taunting sort of malice, and the secret behind Tora's eyes was both eminent but just hard enough to grasp. However, Tora knew this. And being a man who liked to end all his conversations with himself getting the last say, he pushed past the doors ahead of the other man and walked calmly out into the main hall once again.

Seeing Akari waiting at the other end of the hall though, directly across from him, he faltered for merely a few seconds, his steps slowing as he walked.

She wore a silken skirt, nearly floor-length, that hugged her small frame in a way that somehow made her look taller. It was a deep royal blue that caught the eye right away, and the fabric clung to the edge of her hips and moved whenever she did. Above that her top was plain and black, a button-up that she had simply tucked into the skirt.

In short, the look made her appear to have the slightest edge of elegance, and he took it in greedily for about two seconds. That slight and tiny edge had somehow caught his attention, if only for a moment.

Tora blinked and looked away, quickening his steps to his normal long-legged pace once again. He made a quick exit turning down the adjoining next hall, disappearing around the corner without so much as supplying an answer to the man stuttering behind him, or facing the girl behind him whose silver-blue eyes followed him with a more than curious gaze.

* * *

"What?"

Kirchiro quickly looked away, narrowing his eyes to stare back out the window. He had been staring at her back and forth for quite some time now, but hadn't been exactly stealthy about it. He looked back at her, sneaking yet another peak once again.

Suddenly, her eyes flashed onto him. "What is it that you want already?"

He made a certain 'humph' sound, leaning back further into his seat and spreading his legs out further in front of him. In response, Akari crossed her legs away from his, trying to make some room for herself, supplying her own personal bubble every time he tried to pop it.

"You keep staring at me. I want to know why. What did Tora say to you in that room?"

He looked over at her and grinned.

"Nothing you need to know about."

"If it's what's causing you to stare at me in such a creepy manner, I think I should know."

He almost rolled his eyes. "The reason I'm staring at you has nothing to do with it." His eyes landed on her body, looking her up and down with an arrogant, predatory look. "Can't a man just enjoy the view he has before him?"

He was then promptly kicked in the shin.

"You're worse than Igarashi." She muttered, holding her arms protectively around herself.

"I wouldn't be so sure." He chuckled, ignoring the dull pain in his lower leg. "You know, being away from your home so long has certainly made you more feisty than before."

"Why is it that I don't remember you being around ever before, but you seem to know me so well?" Her eyes narrowed on him, suspicious and far from trusting.

He sighed. "You can be such a bother with all your questions sometimes. Do you ever just- relax?"

Akari stuck her chin out, turning her face away from him. "I'll relax when I'm at home and have locked myself safely in my own room."

He made a sort of grunting, scoffing sound, dipping his head down so that she couldn't see his gaze.

"...What was that?"

"That?" He looked up at her, smirking. "That was my quite appropriate reaction to your ridiculous thoughts of safety. Your brother would happily loan me the keys to your room if I wanted them..."

"For you sake, I hope you don't want them."

"For my sake?"

"Yes. For health reasons."

His eyes narrowed on her, and he grinned. "Is this your idea of some sort of- _warning_?"

She smiled, albeit sourly. "What if it is?"

Leaning back in his seat, he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, and a lighter. He reached for her, and she realized he was handing her the lighter. "Would you?"

She rolled her eyes, but took the silver box anyway as he stuck the cigarette in his mouth and leaned forward. She lit it for him, looking down at him as he leaned over, enjoying the leverage she had for a moment. She didn't like always being the one looked down upon.

"You know what game he's playing at, don't you?" She said suddenly, causing him to look up at her as the butt of his cigarette lit itself. She closed the lighter but refused to hand it back to him, even pulled it away when he reached for it.

"Come now, don't be like that miss-"

"You get your lighter back when I get some answers."

They caught each other's eye. His neck snapped back with his body, and though they both knew he could have easily taken the upper hand and used force to get the lighter back, they also both knew he was enjoying this too much to attempt it.

"Alright. If it's answers you want, then I'll give a little. For a girl like you-" He flashed her a conniving smile. "I'd love to play like this. It's great fun for the both of us."

"Disregarding the fact that I don't find this fun and actually only you do-" She caught his eye with her charmingly harsh smile. "I'd love some answers right about now."

"You asked about his game? Tora plays many games. I can't possibly even know one of them, though I can guess."

"What did you talk about with him before we left?"

"You."

She pulled back, making a confused face before he laughed.

"He's fairly interested in you. It's probably what his main game is about right now. He called you a-" He stopped a moment, causing her to stare at him with her full attention.

"He called me a what?"

"He called you his prize." He smirked, watching for her reactions.

However, all she gave him was a nod. She might have even been about to laugh, because he thought he saw her lips quirk slightly upwards.

"He's really an idiot. Of course he'd refer to people like objects, that's just who he is... Well, anything else?"

"I don't fully understand what you are to him," Kichiro rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "At first I was thinking you were just another conquest for him, but he gave me reason to believe... otherwise."

"Be a little more clear."

He smirked. "Say please."

"Alright, please be a little more clear." She was acting calmly, but her impatience was steadily growing inside of her.

And he could tell. Smiling, he leaned forward and snatched the lighter from her hand. "It's cute, how worked up you're getting because of this. I'll finish with this- I think you mean more to him than we both think."

Akari stared at the man before her for a moment as he blew a stream a smoke into the air in the limo.

"What... does that mean?"

"You figure it out." He made an 'o' with his lips, puffing out more smoke but this time directing it at her.

Coughing horribly, she rolled down the window beside her, trying to breathe again.

"Having trouble?"

"Stop smoking in the car!" She turned on him, glaring.

"You're the one who lit it for me."

"I was caught up in the conversation. I wasn't thinking about it."

He gave her an inquiring look.

"Do you, ever think?"

She turned to the window, pushing herself closer to it and trying to breathe in the cool, crisp air outside. That's when she caught sight of the gates just opening up for them. Her eyes widened, and the passenger sitting across from her took note of that.

"Welcome home, sweetheart." He grinned, flicking his cigarette past her face and out the window as the car rolled into the drive.

She turned to look at him, obviously struggling to wipe her face clear of all emotions.

"Let's get one thing straight right here right now, Mr. Ikehara." She glared at him. "If you really do come into my room without my permission, I will be sure to have you fired."

His laughter seemed to echo in her head as the car abruptly pulled to a stop. That's when she knew it for sure- she wasn't in charge at all, despite what her name said. She may be a Michiyo, as sure as Tora is an Igarashi, but where he stood in power and where she stood in power was on a whole scale of difference. Tora _has control_ because of his family name. She_ is controlled_ because of her's.

Picking the option of returning home meant a whole world of trouble for her.

But then again, staying back with the Igarashi's would have caused double this amount of trouble... not only for her, but for several others...

Groaning, she took that first step out of the car as the door was opened for her.

* * *

**A/N: Hello! I am in pain. :D**

**Me and my best friend went to the gym yesterday and it did feel pretty great- until I woke up today and felt the soreness set in. :/ Ah, well. Exercise hurts in a good way- beauty is pain- and all that nonsense or whatever. Seriously though, my thighs are burning, there might literally be little fires ignited in my muscles. **

**Anywho... I have *BIG PLANS* for the next upcoming chapters... Tora's gonna be all... meanwhile Akari will have to... and then at the... he's gonna... and it'll be sooo... **

**Yeah, I'm not filling in the blanks for you. Hehehe... I'm an evil tyrannical writer, remember? Now you peasants should get some rest before the next chapters, you're gonna need it in order to keep up. Also, take a bath. Seriously, you're all filthy. **

**;) I love you all, and thank you so much for reviewing or simply just viewing my story! That's totally completely indubitably fantastic of you! Keep the reviews rolling in!**

**Peasants!**

**Catch you later, as the story begins to pick up and sparkle and such ^-^ Go Michiashi! Or whatever you want to call them. Torari?**

**I really don't know what their couple name should be so just call it what you want.**

**CK :* **


	17. Prime and Calloused

**A/N: I bring good tidings of great joy! ****The lemon chapter is so soon that it's actually just around the corner!**

**Or not. **

**TEASE! :D but really, my favorite number is 18, so what chapter do you think will be the lemon one eh? EH? take the hint. go on, take it...**

**Although sometimes, for cliffhanger's sake, I end up leaving something important until the chapter after the chapter I had originally planned to put it in. So, we'll just see how it all works out ;)**

_Prime: of the first importance; demanding the fullest consideration; of the highest rank or eminence_

_Calloused: made hard; hardened; insensitive, indifferent, and unsympathetic_

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen. Prime And Calloused**

Pleasantly enough, Akari was only sent straight to her room after her bags were unloaded and she was taken inside. The estate was as gloomy as ever. Some might look around at the elegant decor and the richly deepened shades and say it has a sort of dark beauty to it, but after having lived here most of her life, it all just becomes _gloomy. _Walking through these halls made her feel like a dark mass of thunder clouds was surrounding her, following her around, adding a depressed light to every shade of the estate.

Akari's room was at the edge of the west wing of the mansion, and it's quite the trip to get there. You basically just walk as faaarrr left as you can get, and then you reach the long, abandoned hallway that has one room to accompany it- her room. As you can tell, she was placed in the most secluded part of the house. It's just another way for her family to show her they don't want her too involved in their lives.

When she entered her room for the first time again since so long ago, her first thought was as she was twisting the handle and stepping through the doorway;

_I haven't been here since before mother died. _

Erasing the thought immediately, seeing as she didn't need any more gloom to accompany her today, she welcomed in the maids who came after her carrying her bags, and turned on the lights to their brightest setting, which was actually still a fairly dim, orange glow.

The room was as magnificently furnished as her room at the Igarashi estate, though it was in fact a bit smaller, with less space for all of her belongings. For example, she only had one medium-sized closet instead of two large ones, and her wardrobe was only half the size of the one she had back at the Igarashi's estate. Not that she was complaining- what single person needs all of that space anyway?

_Somebody vain, with a big ego. _For a moment, she smirked._ Tora. _

As she walked about the room and let the maids set her things down for her, she only continued her evaluation of the differences in the two rooms. Her room at the Igarashi mansion had been all light gold, beige and white cream, but here, her room was the opposite. Walls of light gold were now walls of dark garnet, and cherry-wood cabinets and dressers were replaced with those of black mahogany. Polished brass handles were now turned to glinting silver, beige curtains over the windows were now ebony drapes, and vanilla-ice-cream-colored carpeted floors were now a rich color of black coffee. The furniture seemed to be the only similarity she could find, it was the same arrangement as at the other estate- a massive bed, a collection of sofas, a coupling of love seats, a long coffee table, the dresser and cabinets, a desk and a big sofa chair.

_Again, what single person needs so much stuff?!_

She had never compared two completely different rooms before in her life. It was like night and day, the differences between the two.

She had left a palace of light shades and sunlight and entered a domain of dim lights and splintered shadows. The results left her with the strange two-feeling mix of nostalgia and home-sickness. Nostalgia from the familiarity of her father's estate, and homesickness for the Igarashi's estate that she had to leave behind. It wasn't a pleasant mix of feelings. In fact, she felt a sickness in her stomach beginning to set in.

Sighing heavily, Akari made her way towards the bed with it's black violet bedding, and sat herself down rigidly, looking down to make sure she hadn't stepped on the edge of her skirt. This is where she would wait, she supposed, until given further instructions. Of course, she was clever enough to make three solid guesses of what would happen next.

1. Hayate would come in, beat her for slapping him and her father the last time she visited, and then say something cruel before leaving.

2. She would be called to her father's office and he would proceed to yell at her for a steady hour or so, and then boss her around about how things are going to work from now on.

3. Both of those things would happen, one in procession of the other.

So really, all she had to do now was wait. And wait she would, right here in this room, on edge and trying to calm herself.

At this point, she supposed, ignorance truly would be bliss; as she'd really rather not know precisely what terrible things would happen within the next hour or so.

* * *

"Maki."

The black haired boy had answered his phone, only to hear, of course, the President's voice on the other end.

"What is it, president?"

"I take it everything has been arranged for Michiyo-san at Miyabigaoka?"

Kanade stepped easily out of the car when the door opened up for him. He gazed up at the building before him with his usual easy, yet somehow creepy and off-setting, smile stuck on his face.

"I'm taking care of it as we speak, sir." He said into the phone, straightening out his suite before nodding to the driver to wait there for him.

"Ahh, then I caught you just in time. I would like for you to relay a message to miss Michiyo for me."

"Of course sir. What shall I say?"

"Tell her, that the President of Miyabigaoka welcomes her to our school. Add on something polite to add to that I suppose, whatever makes it sound better." He mused, and then paused. "Also, tell her that he would like for her to save him a dance at her upcoming party." It was only obvious that Tora was giving his best conniving smile on the other end of that call.

"I will relay the message when I'm done with business here."

"Kanade, remember to make sure you have her alone when you tell her. And take note of her face for me once you've given her the message," Tora must have been smirking, for he paused once again. "I want to know what she looks like when realization hits her."

Maki approached the front doors of the estate as he continued to listen, his eyes looking up at the dark, rustic strangeness of the mansion lined up before him. It was certainly different from both his own and the Igarashi estate.

"Of course." He consented to his President's demands, as always. "I'll make sure to pay attention. Anything else?"

"Call me once you've finished there. We need to discuss the details afterwards... nothing more."

Tora, like most times he called, hung up when he finished making his notions clear to his Vice President. Maki only sighed, placing the phone in his pocket as he stopped just in front of the large doors.

Though this new obsession felt like the 'Maid-Latte' incident all over again, it was also somehow different. But still, the reason for Tora's thorough interest often evaded the Vice President, and worried him.

Just how had this girl gotten to Tora so easily? How had she left an effect to this extent on such a stable, self-assured bachelor like the Igarashi heir? Speaking of that, Tora was one of the most eligible bachelors in the country so why had he stopped taking just any woman he wanted?

Tora's words suddenly echoed in Maki's ears about women, gifts, and prizes. But, his personal take on that was, if this Michiyo girl was such a 'prize' as Tora had said, then why was Tora all talk and no game? So far, all Maki could see was the boy trying, and failing, and basically chasing this girl in circles. He knew Tora, and he knew when Tora was not giving it his all. With this girl, he for some reason wasn't. If he were, he'd have had his way with her by now, and then some.

Yes, if you asked Maki, it was about time the President took action and _truly _obtained Akari as his own personal prize.

But pushing those thoughts aside for now, he knocked on the large doors set before him, preparing himself for the casual business matter he was in charge of taking care of.

* * *

A knocking resounded on her door a second time.

The first time, Akari had not answered it because she had, quite honestly, frozen on the spot.

But now she remembered, if her father or brother were to come to her, they would demand entrance to her room, not ask for it with a knock.

Her skirt swirling around her, she walked across her elegant dark room until she reached the door with a sense of curiosity. Just then, there was another knock, and she opened it to see-

Some guy she vaguely knew from somewhere.

"Yes?" She asked, looking him up and down. He was dressed sharply and his face seemed to be set in a permanently polite grin. Black hair framed his face, sleek and shiny, combed and long.

"Michiyo Akari?" The boy asked, bowing slightly for her.

"That would be me. Er," She struggled to find the right words. Wow, being away from home really had turned her into less of a lady. "Well ah, sorry about this, but I don't recall who you are."

"I am the Vice President of Miyabigaoka, Maki Kanade." His grin really was permanently stuck as he spoke. "I'm here regarding a message I was sent to deliver."

Miyabigaoka? The private school that she almost ended up attending, eh? The one owned by the Igarashi Foundation. Yeah, so of course Tora would be the famous student council president there, pft.

Wait a minute, she'd seen this guy with that bastard Igarashi before... Vice President... they worked together then- they must be friends.

Or Tora was blackmailing him. Seemed highly likely, with Tora being Tora and all. Actually, no, this Maki Kanade guy seemed more like a loyal servant. But you know. Either or.

"Ah," Was all she replied, though her brain stayed fairly active.

"Shall I relay the message, or come back at a later time?"

She could tell he was just being polite, but if she said no he would try to convince her to listen regardless. These rich people surrounding her... ehk. She knew them all too well.

"Go ahead." It came out as a sigh.

The boy brightened up a bit, nodding before speaking up again. "The matter regards your schooling. The President of Miyabigaoka would like to say that he is happy to have you attending our school and that he hopes you find everything to your liking. We're sure that you'll have a wonderful learning experience with us." He paused, staring at her for some reason. She merely quirked an eyebrow at him though.

"That's all then?" She questioned him.

"No, there is one more thing." The boy's polite, professional aura was starting to annoy her, along with that smile glued to his face as he spoke. "The President wishes that you'll save a dance for him at your party."

At this, she scowled, recalling the last time she had danced with Tora. And then she found herself blushing when she remembered what exactly that had led to... She shivered uncomfortably, remembering the way his hips demanded against hers, and the sound of his voice when he told her to touch him...

She huffed, blushing a furious shade of red as she realized she was starting to become aroused by the memory. That damn tiger! Making her think about it again. The wish was innocent and simply enough, sure, but Tora probably knew bringing up dancing would strike the memory- he really was a _bastard_!

A bastard who she could practically still feel touching her...

"O-okay," She swallowed. _Just stop thinking about it already!_ "Thank you very much sir." She said, bowing slightly in order to hide the look on her face. She was completely embarrassed, feeling that certain heat collecting in both her face and... in a lower region as well.

The Vice President eyed her carefully, mulling his words over in his head, it would seem. Then, with that same plastered smile, he nodded.

"Of course miss. Would you like for me to give a reply?"

_Yeah- you can give him a reply. You can tell that lecherous president that there's no way in hell I'm ever dancing with him again. I know what his motives are, lecherous lecherous lecherous LECHEROUS!_

She smiled, trying to look unaffected by the conversation. "Oh, no, I really don't have anything to say to him. So, uh, so he'll be attending my party then?"

Really, at this point, she had no idea what concepts they were talking about. She had yet to be informed of a party and she also had yet to be informed of her switch in schools. Though she suspected as much, still, she was never told 'There will be a party in your honor on such-and-such day' or 'You will now attend Miyabigaoka'. But she liked finding out this way better than finding out from her family members.

The boy smiled a bit wider this time. "The President said he will. He seems to be looking forward to it."

Akari stumbled for ground. She had to find some sort of answer to that, without saying anything that made it sound like it affected her all that much.

"Well, Mr.- Maki, was it?" She looked to him and he nodded. "Thank you for relaying the messages. Tell the President that I thank him for his- kind consideration of me. I'm sure Miyabigaoka will be just as wonderful as you both say."

He waited for something more, watching her like something that was in an exhibit on display, all the while with that creepy polite smile on his face.

"If you'll excuse me," She said, backing into her room rather awkwardly. He just nodded, gave a bow, and turned as she started to shut the door.

When the door was closed and she heard the young man's receding footfalls, she leaned back against the wood and sighed. Subconsciously, her mind traveled back to what happened on that day in the dance studio room with Tora, and again she found herself blushing and cursing in her head over and over again.

* * *

Tora smirked as he thought over Kanade's explanation of Akari's reactions to what he had said.

Flustered. Angry. Embarrassed.

"Hm." Tora hummed contentedly to himself, lacing his fingers together as he continued on this train of thought, imagining her blushing, disapproving face.

Honestly, of course there was a hidden message he had wanted to portray. And her, being the clever little girl that she was, had caught on to it: Tora wasn't done with her just yet, despite the fact that he'd allowed her to return home. And there was far more sexually intense moments that he planned to spend with her. Far more opportunities he looked forward to.

He almost shivered at the thought. When was the last time he'd had a good lay anyway?

Leaning back in his chair comfortably, a sense of quiet thought enveloped him. He pondered only for a moment though, finding the answer quickly. When the answer finally came, he became so frustrated with his lack of self control in 'that situation' that he almost punched a dent into the desk in front of him.

However at the last second, his other arm flew up and his hand gripped his fist. He shook in confused anger for a moment, and then dropped both arms onto the desk, forced to relieve some of his frustration.

So, he had said her name while climaxing with another woman, he remembered that well now. Quickly, Tora shrugged the thought off as easily as he could. Well what was the big deal in that? It only meant that he subconsciously thought about having sex with her. That he wanted to fuck her senseless, he wanted to completely indulge in his prize. It made sense- no, it made _perfect _sense, he found himself nodding to that. He liked a good challenge, loved the chase, wanted to hunt his prey down, drag it back with him, force out its resistance and then have his way with it.

He just thought of her as another conquest. And also that she was more of a prize than other women were, that she offered more to him than them.

That's how it was since the beginning, and that's how it would stay, yes?

Tora screwed his eyes shut for a moment, closing those deep golden pools to the world around him. He began to drift over the thoughts caught in the very back of his mind.

Sometimes, just a little bit, he got to thinking that it may not all be so simple as that, like he wanted it to be.

* * *

_**SLAP!**_

"I wanted to remind you that you aren't better than me. You hardly deserved to lay a hand on me, you don't even deserve the family name."

"Technically I deserve it much more than you d-"

_**SMACK!**_

"That smart mouth of yours... looks like it got worse since you left."

She wiped her bleeding lip. "But I see you haven't changed at all. What a shock."

He raised his hand to hit her again, but this time she cowered away. Already on the floor, all she could do was turn her head, wincing, expecting the blow and trying to brace herself for it.

Although, all that followed was harsh laughter after that.

"So you _do_ know it then, you know you're just a bratty little girl. I can do whatever I want and so can our father, and that will never change. Don't you fucking mess with me again. The same goes for father." Hayate took a step back, examining her crumpled form on the floor. He sneered at the swelling marks appearing where he'd hit her. "Get cleaned up before school and cover up those marks. We don't want more rumors spreading."

With that, he left her to her big, lonely room, slamming the door behind him as he chuckled again to himself.

Steadily, Akari sucked in a breath, trying hard to comfort herself by thinking about the positives. As soon as she was at school, she wouldn't have to deal with Hayate or her father. Her body and mind could take a break from the abuse for at least most of the day. Yeah, there's a positive. Sort of not the best thing, considering Tora would be there, along with other spoiled and wealthy kids with most likely the same sort of attitude as him. But hey, it was better than home. Anything was.

Standing up on her own, she found, was easier than holding herself up with her arms. Once she tried to grip the counter (she was in the bathroom- she had been getting ready before school until Hayate had unexpectedly attacked her) she cried out in pain and released her grip, stumbling backwards on her feet until she settled against the tub in a harsh 'thump'. She examined her left arm carefully, for that was the one throbbing in pain, and didn't really see anything wrong with it. But often the worse injuries were the ones you couldn't see with the naked eye, right?

Faintly, she recalled the moment when her half brother had entered the room and harshly threw her down. It was so unexpected she hadn't even caught herself properly, and most of her weight had settled on her left arm. Then he'd proceeded to swiftly kick her and curse and mumble about whatever insults he could think up. Of course, the more he abused her, the more weight was put on the arm as her whole body crumpled.

Yep, that arm was probably broken. Or fractured, or... she didn't really know what, but _something_ must be wrong with it. It hurt pretty bad, though the pain was bearable. After all, she'd dealt with it before in her younger years.

Careful to avoid bumping the arm as she tried to cradle it against her chest, she looked to the mirror and took a deep sigh.

Her face was all- messed up- and stuff.

Let's just say, there was some bloodstains and some bruises. It wasn't too pretty.

She looked on at her reflection, narrowing her eyes at the work of her half brother. She truly hated him. And the lecture her father had given her yesterday (hah, lecture? more like screaming fit) made her hate her father as well.

"Well," She turned to one of the bathroom drawers. "Time to get the cover up."

* * *

She only _just_ made it in time to school.

The limo parked in the front lot of the estate had idled for far too long, as she had taken up too much time trying to figure out what to do about her injured arm, (eventually she just left it as it was and hoped no one noticed the pained look on her face when she used it) plus she also had to cover up Hayate's abuse and change into her uniform, and finish drying her hair.

Of course she had no time to eat breakfast.

"Fuck you, Hayate." She muttered under her breath, her dress skirt flying as she raced down the hall and rushed into a random classroom that, to be honest, she had only guessed was hers.

Though she really hoped it wasn't hers, when she walked in to see a familiar face a midst the crowd of rich young students.

* * *

Most people immediately started whispering about the girl who flew into the classroom with her hair rumpled, cheeks flushed, and tie on backwards.

Tora, of course, walked towards the girl with a smooth step, a languid air about him as he approached her with a lazy but observing gaze. He noted the way she immediately narrowed her eyes and gave an unhappy pout when she saw him, and took pleasure in that.

"Michiyo-san." He greeted her, smiling warmly, though he made sure his eyes held a look that irritated her.

"Igarashi." She peered past him around the more-than-large classroom full of students whispering about her, and also about him now. "Is this, uh, what classroom is this?"

"Since you are a grade below me, Akari-san." She looked at him when she noticed his change in addressing her. "You're in the classroom just next door. I'm afraid you've got the wrong room."

She looked so relieved he wanted immediately to ruin it.

"Another thing,"

She had already started to turn around, but glanced back cautiously when he called to her again. He gave her an amused grin.

"You might want to fix your appearance a bit. The students of Miyabigaoka should always look their best."

Her scowl satisfied him well enough before she left the room, adjusting her backwards tie as she went.

* * *

So, even though Akari had seen rich grand halls plenty of times in her life, she had seen elaborate decor and huge, fancy rooms, she had never seen the classrooms in Miyabigaoka.

It was the middle of class now, and she still was in awe that it was actually referred to as a _classroom._

It was too big to be a freakin' classroom.

The room was far and wide, with extremely high ceilings and rows of desks made from the finest wood that are kept raised on high steps. In front of the spacious blackboard at the front of the room is a long, elegantly carved podium, situated kind of _too _far from the students' desks and put in a position where the teacher can view everyone at once.

Moving on from the room's impressive size, there was something bugging her about it.

How could anyone hear a word the teacher was saying?!

She had been straining all class period, leaning forward slightly in her seat and cursing over and over in her head to herself. The teacher, for all she knew, was talking about small dogs or hungry trolls. She didn't know. How the hell was she _supposed_ to know- when she couldn't hear him!

Feeling a light tap on her shoulder, Akari turned her face, still annoyed as she was STILL straining to hear the teacher, only to be met by the face of a fellow rich girl in a fellow uniform. Oh, shit, had she done something wrong already? Was she not _sitting _properly or something?

"Are you having trouble hearing?" Was all the girl had asked though. And with sympathy, at that. And a small smile.

_I don't know who you are._ Akari thought in relief. _But the fact that you don't seem all that spoiled or snotty, makes me want to hug the crap out of you right now._

"Yeah." Was all she said though, trying to smile a little herself.

"You can borrow my notes. I copy them from Shigeo-kun." She pointed a turquoise-nailed finger with snowflake designs on them, down at the bottom rows of the classroom. Trying her best to pick out what person the girl was pointing at, Akari's eyes settled on the back of the head of a boy who was rather large and tall, bulky- like her half-brother. She shivered slightly at the thought of Hayate.

"He can hear better down there?"

"Yeah, and he's really nice for letting me copy his notes." The girl smiled dreamily, then her gaze turned sharply on Akari. "You don't think he's cute, do you?"

It was a warning. Akari's eyes widened at the girl's freakish change in character, but she smiled to try and calm her down.

"Oh, I can't really tell from here. But to be honest I'm not all that interested in boys. Just learning."

The girl eased up- barely, though- at this.

"Okay..." She began to giggle. Talk about bipolar. "So you're some sort of unfeminine nerd? Good. I take it you wanna copy my notes I get from him then?"

"That," Akari met her gaze, trying to be friendly and open despite the insult. "Would be incredibly helpful. Thanks."

The girl smiled, pushing her cream-colored hair over her shoulder. "Don't mention it, I'm always nice to newbies."

"My name is-"

"Michiyo-san." The girl found her eyes again. "I know. I know a lot of things."

The way she said that made Akari feel uneasy. Nonetheless, she smiled at the girl. This was a good way to get back into her more lady-like character, talking to a fellow lady. Though she didn't want to do it, she kind of had to start changing her personality back to the way it used to be.

"What's your name?"

"I," The girl added a good amount of flare and gusto to her words. "am Yoshioka, Teruko. Daddy owns the Yoshioka Law Firm."

"That's impressive. And your mother?"

The girl's face went slack.

"She died." Came the rough response.

Akari, not one to really watch herself with the personal space (unless it came to _her own_ personal space) immediately reached over and laid her hand atop the other girl's, in an act of both sympathy and understanding.

"My mother died recently. I'm sorry."

Teruko, though startled by the sudden gesture, smiled a bit at Akari.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about you, too."

Akari took her hand back, settling into her chair and crossing her legs. It was obvious that was a topic neither of them wanted to discuss any further, so... moving on.

Let it be said though, that for the rest of the class, Yoshioka Teruko acted fairly friendly towards Akari. It was nice, in an unexpected sort of way, and got her thinking.

Maybe not all rich kids were bad.

_Hah, Aika would kill me for thinking that. _Akari thought sadly to herself. She hadn't talked to her friends in forever it seemed, and she had been too busy with the sudden quick change in her life to really search around for her phone and text them to explain. She felt bad- they were probably really worried about her.

For a moment, Akari winced. Aika was going to _kill_ her.

* * *

It didn't matter if Aika killed her, she decided. Because she was probably already going to die due to cardiac arrest.

It seemed to be Tora's mission today, to give her as many heart attacks as possible.

The first time, she had just been exiting her classroom when he just appeared by the door- no joke, he just- appeared- there- and though she didn't see him at first, he made sure to make himself noticed when he whispered something sexy into her ear that, thank every god above, no one else could hear.

After tearing off to the girl's bathroom to escape him (she was glad that he at least had the decency to avoid walking in there) she had been forced to come out when the bell rang. Though she was late to her next class, it was worth it to avoid the tiger. And she always had the excuse: it was her first day, the school was massive, and it was easy to get lost.

The second time Tora scared her half to death was when she was sent by the teacher to one of the many information centers in the school, or as they are nicknames, 'help desks', (yes, the school had fucking info. centers set up all over the place it was so large) in order for her to get a map of the school so she wouldn't be late to anymore of her classes and she could know where to go.

Not that the map helped much. Because she ended up getting lost when she went back to try to re-find her classroom.

That was when Tora pounced around the next corner. She still doesn't know how he did it, maybe he has his own radar, but he had found her at precisely the right moment, and of course he walked right up to her and was persistent in harassing her. It scared her so bad because of the way he walked up to her- all stealthy-like and quiet- he really did move like a tiger. When he was right behind her she had started to turn around and bumped into him, effectively making her scream- though he put his hand over her mouth so as not to alert the entire hallway.

That had ended in him escorting her back to class. After, you know, teasing her endlessly about her not knowing where she was going. It was not the most annoying thing he'd done, but still, by the time she was back in class she was fuming so much that smoke was practically escaping her ears.

And now, the third time?

Well the third time was happening right now. Though she didn't know it yet, as it had not exactly happened yet, her skin was tingling. As if she could sense it. Maybe she had radar too.

It was the first break of the day, (she had found out that they got an unusual amount of freetime- there never really was a set lunch period, there were just the breaks where you could talk with friends, eat, visit the school stores, enjoy some leisure time or study. It was probably meant for studying, but the rich kids pretty much got free rein.

Speaking of reins, Tora's next surprise had something to do with them.

She had just walked outside, staring down at the map in her hands that she had, she was STILL trying to make sense of it. It was a huge map, for an equally huge school- and it was printed on a paper that was larger than average. So there she stood, looking idiotic and confused, flipping the large map (that almost completely covered her face) every which way, going pretty unnoticed by whoever walked past her.

And then came the third heart attack.

"Aahhhh!" She jumped quite high up, her skin shivering, and she stumbled a step backwards with wide eyes. When she had put down the map for a moment, the sight before her had, this time, legitimately been very, very close to giving her a real heart attack.

A massive stallion was placed directly in front of her, stomping a hoof at her squealed reaction and tossing its head up next to its rider.

And who should it's rider be?

"Igarashi." She stopped freaking out and instead deadpanned. "You're on a horse." She pointed a finger up at him as she pointed it out.

Tora rolled his eyes, and, she could swear it, his horse did too. "I am aware of that fact, Akari-san."

"...Why are you mounted on a horse?"

_And why do you have to look so damn attractive while doing it?!_

"I am on a horse," He declared clearly. "Because it is the only way to get around campus."

_Well the campus is bigger than both the Igarashi and Michiyo estates combined. Which is basically fantastically massive._ She thought about it for a moment. _And it's not like I haven't heard about the horseback riding thing as transportation at Miyabigaoka before. _

But still, this was ridiculous. Couldn't anyone else see it? Ridiculous. Everything else kind of was too, but c'mon, horses to ride around on? At school? The fu-

"Don't tell me you didn't know." He sounded like he knew she didn't know though. Mockery.

"...Are you kidding me? Horses?"

He smiled smugly at her in response.

"Jeez, and I thought it was just a rumor..." She mumbled to herself.

Just then, a group of students hurried by, saying their greetings to Tora, and one of them ended up bumping into her. Into her arm, that is. The possibly-broken one.

Luckily, no one but her noticed the pain she was induced with.

Unluckily, she was wrong about that.

Tora smiled to the other students, but turned his head to her, noticing that she was cradling her left arm with her right, wincing and edging away from the passing figures. He frowned, but quickly erased the look from his face when she straightened up, lowered her arm carefully, and as if nothing had happened, continued with her conversation with him.

"So, have fun flaunting through the snow on your- steed." She looked to the horse again. It eyed her, snorting at her uncertain expression. "Anyway, I'll just be off on my own now so-"

"Akari. What's wrong with your arm?"

She paused awkwardly, not expecting him to say that. Also, he had dropped the _'-san'_ from earlier. Her eyes stayed on the white horse, who seemed to be getting impatient standing beneath Tora. It was stomping its hoof angrily on the cobblestone.

"Do I need to ask again?"

Suddenly, her eyes found his. She wanted to punch him, but seeing as he was _on a horse_, she couldn't. So instead, she sighed heavily and gave him what he wanted. Maybe then he'd leave her alone so that she could find some food. She was starving.

"I did something to it this morning. I don't really know what's wrong with it, but it hurts."

His golden gaze suddenly narrowed on her own, but as always, she didn't back down or look away, but evened out her own gaze with his.

"Are you in need of a doctor?"

"If I were, would I be here?"

Okay, even she knew she sounded unconvincing. Tora suddenly sighed, sounding irritated with the situation, like 'oh, great, she got herself into trouble again'. What was he, her guidance counselor?

"I'll get you a horse. We can ride over to the general hospital."

Her eyes bulged.

"Leave school? You can do that during break?"

He sighed again. "I meant the general hospital on campus."

She snorted, much like the impatient horse, and turned her head away to mumble. "Of course you did." Then she looked down curiously at her map. "How did I miss that on here..."

Suddenly she felt a pair of eyes staring daggers at her, and she looked up to find both him and the horse looking impatient.

"Well?"

She looked up at him to shake her head. "I can't hold the reins with my arm like it is. I don't need a horse, I'll just-"

"Then you can ride with me." He suggested casually. Though, she would bet anyone there was a suggestiveness hidden in his tone somewhere.

Her scowl made it clear what her answer was, and he then sighed, dismounting so that he could stand beside her. Unhappily, he grabbed shoulder, pushing her forward with him as he began to walk. "So damn stubborn."

"What about your horse?" She asked incredulously. He had just _left it there._

Tora waved a dismissive hand. "Someone will take care of it. It is _my _horse. No one would dare leave it unattended like that."

"Except you."

He stared at her hard. "Be more grateful. It's not like I had to be so generous and even _walk_ with you when it's so far away."

"What, you hate exercise?"

He smirked. "I'm surprised you asked that, given that you've seen my body for yourself."

She made sure to ignore that statement. "Then why are you so upset? Hm, maybe you're having an off day like I am?"

He peered down at her. Damn his height, he was so TALL. She was glad he was off the high perch on his horse though.

Before he said anything, he made a sort of scoffing sound, and she thought she saw him rolling his eyes when he looked away.

"_I_ never have 'off days'."

"Glad to know you're so much more perfect than everyone else." She muttered, grunting in disapproval of him.

"You really are more annoying than usual." He stated.

"You really are getting on my nerves."

"It makes me wonder, what happened to you today that got you in such a mood?" He continued, ignoring her insulting tone.

She could sense where this was going. He was prying, she wasn't stupid. And so she stayed silent as they walked.

"Ah, I see. You're not telling me anything." He sounded amused with her.

More of her silence must have been what issued him to stop walking. And since she really was only following him (she had no idea where to find the hospital area on the campus- why was there even a whole hospital at a school?!) she had to stop too.

Smirking at her stubborn face as she turned to glare up at him, he continued.

"So let's skip the sniffing around you knew I was going to do, and just get to the point." He gestured towards her. "What happened to your arm?"

"I don't know yet," She gritted her teeth. "That's why we're going to the hospital."

Tora narrowed his eyes on her small frame. "Stop avoiding what you know I mean. How did it happen?"

"Prying is a sin Tora."

"What a weak excuse." He marveled, making a valid point and he knew it.

"Forget this, I'll find way own way." She turned around, hating the way he looked at her. That smirk. That stupid, idiotic smirk of his. He was such a-

She looked over her shoulder to glare at him, but- oh, he really was gone.

She scowled, turning back and starting to walk again. She was at least expecting him to continue to help her, you know, finish what he had started to do. But then again, why would she expect something like that from the likes of him?

A loud clopping sound met her ears, momentarily distracting her. Then it completely distracted her, when a horse was blocking her path.

"What are you doing?" She accused as she met his eyes.

"I'll find out eventually." He looked at her with a certain glint in his eye. "I always do." Then he held out a hand for her to take. His tone turned to a bored sort of one. "In the meantime, being the gentleman that I am, I'll help see you to Miyabigaoka's hospital. Get on."

_You're gonna need a hospital if you say one more arrogant word. _Akari thought, though she decided to stay quiet about the threat.

She had a feeling, that her words can and will be held against her. Really, talking to Tora was like being in a courtroom at all times!

She glanced up at him with a look of annoyed anger, and caught him looking at her with a knowing, smooth-lipped smile, as if he knew just exactly how evil he was.

"I already told you I would wal-"

"Get on."

"I already sa-"

"Get. On."

His eyes sparked dangerously. Obviously, he was NOT going to walk her there. And he would have it his way whether she liked it or not.

She, unwillingly, grabbed his hand.

* * *

"It's not broken, but probably came close to it. You got lucky that it's only badly swelled, just a bruise."

Tora noticed that Akari looked fairly disappointed by this statement.

"Oh, well, thank you." Her breath heaved in a sigh.

Once Tora had thanked the doctor politely, having a small chit-chat with the man about what pain killers she would need to take, he took Akari with him out of Miyabigaoka's general hospital area with a small, knowing smile flickering on his face.

Of course, he expected her to notice it and she had. "What's that look for?"

He glanced down at her as they walked across the long, perfectly-plowed-of-snow sidewalk, towards where his horse stood tied up.

"You sounded surprisingly unhappy about not having a serious injury." He said nothing more, but the smile stayed on his face.

"Did I?" She challenged him bitterly.

"You did." He looked away, now smirking more than grinning. "It almost seems as if you want it to be broken, so that you don't have to use it for any sort of activity." He paused for his words to sink in, then mentioned in his most casual voice; "Like dancing."

He could hear her little intake of breath, almost like she inhaled a hiccup, and his smirk widened. Got her.

"That's crazy. Of course I don't want a broken arm." She sounded like she was trying too hard to convince him.

"I thought you were a masochist?" He quirked an eyebrow as he looked down at her, watching her face immediately flush.

"I've already told you, I hate pain."

"Remind me, was that before, or after I proved you wrong by-"

He paused in surprise when she reached up and effectively shut him up with her right hand over his mouth. Her gaze was angry and incredulous, and her face was the brightest shade of red he'd ever noticed on her before.

"Don't say that kind of thing out loud!" She hissed, her glare trying to look past his humored gaze.

Reaching his own hand up, he encircled her wrist in his grasp and pulled her hand away. Leaning forward, he made sure he was a little too close to her when he spoke.

"Glad to know you still remember it as clearly as I do."

She huffed without words for a moment, until he unexpectedly settled his hands around her waist.

"W-what do you think you're doing?!" She warned, looking down at his strong hands, and then up at his face. Then back at his hands on her hips, then up at his smirk on his face, again. "Get off-"

"What?" He feigned innocence, but his face was growing nearer to hers. "I'm only helping you up."

A blank look crossed her face. "Helping me..." She looked to her right, finally realizing they were standing beside the horse. "Up onto the horse. Right."

With her head turned like that, it gave him the perfect opportunity to just glance his lips at the spot under her ear lobe. "Exactly." He muttered.

She jumped, something he had made her do for... what, the fifth time today? Fourth? And though she tried to struggle out of his grasp he quickly turned her and hoisted her easily up onto the horse.

When she was settled into the saddle, he got a leg up and swung down in front of her. He looked back, smirking when he saw the way she inched so far back in the saddle, she was practically placed on the horse's rump.

"You can't ride like that." He stated calmly.

"Don't tell me how to ride a horse. I learned when I was thirteen."

"I learned when I was six."

"Which implies what?"

"That I would know more than you do. And so I should inform you that when riding with two people, the person behind the other has to scoot forward, _stay_ forward, and-" His gaze lowered on hers and he made sure to change his voice to a sweeter, more suggestive tone. "Put their arms around the other... and press their body against them..."

She tensed up, but when the horse shifted slightly she scooted forward- only a bit more though. Tora shook his head.

"No, when we rode over here you nearly fell off. Put your arms around me."

He was taunting her- demanding- and could tell she knew it. Her face was slowly flushing as she steadily became more aggravated and embarrassed.

"But I _didn't _fall off last time."

"Well maybe I'll just have to ride faster this time in order to teach you a lesson." He turned his face away from her now. "Since you just won't listen."

When he snapped the reins and dug his heel into his horse's side, his well-trained stallion of course understood and jerked forward into a quicker pace than usual, and so suddenly that even Tora had to sit deeper into the saddle to not lurch around from the impact.

He laughed triumphantly when he felt Akari's arms fly around him, one gripping up by his shoulder and the other hugging tightly around his chest.

"You're all sorts of evil." He heard her mumble as they rode back over to the main building quickly before their classes started again.

He tossed her a look over his shoulder, taunting her with a deepening smirk as he watched the way she clung to him. It wasn't just amusing, with her chest pressed up against his back, her face showing how self-conscious and aware of it she was with it's reddened cheeks, and her hands clinging to the fabric of his uniform- it also gave him a sense of superiority over her, giving her no choice but to hold onto him like that.

His smirk increased. Oh, she was just _too much fun._

* * *

A day in Igarashi's kingdom, where he ruled over every little thing. Would it ever end?!

Sure, she had lived with him. But at least then she didn't have to worry about if people saw what he did to her. Now? Now she was on full alert, and he seemed to know it because he kept pushing her buttons, much worse than before.

That taunting, maniacal, demon-like blonde.

Thanks to him though, she had finally found a place to eat. And that was the _only _reason he wasn't dead yet. Really, it was.

She sighed to herself, going into deep thought as she chowed down on some sort of fancy sushi in one of the cafes in the school. (At this point, she was not surprised the school had several different cafes)

Tora Igarashi was a strong combination of suave and skilled, lethal and dastardly and, as she always had said, lecherous. He was a prime requisite, of course, and a well-acknowledged and highly sought-after bachelor; but also a young man with a rather callous attitude toward the discomfort or suffering of others.

He lied, cheated, and was unpleasantly talented in negotiating or blackmailing.

He was fake, a mere actor playing every single roll perfectly. It often seemed that not an ounce of him was real, tender, or caring.

All of himself was an iniquity, he could very likely be sent from hell below, she was sure.

So, then. That having been said, that he was indeed sent from hell, it was now settled.

She had started to fall for a devil. A prime and calloused devil.

Suddenly, a pair of hands placed themselves on the table she was eating at, surprising her from her sudden realization in her thoughts. She looked up, expecting it to be a prude schoolgirl telling her to get out of her seat, or possibly, again, Tora himself. Instead, she looked into the dark brown eyes of a complete stranger.

"Hi," He said, smiling down at her with a dimpled grin. "I'm Orochi Fuirutsu."

* * *

**A/N: I have chapters 18-20 alll planned out... hehehe... things are heating up people! It's gonna be very... how to say... interesting... And just plain GOOD, for lack of a better word. Words escape me right now, as my brain is swarming with the ideas for this story's progression. I just hope you guys end up enjoying it too!**

**I wish you a happy, strange-but-delightful new year to come!**

**~Live long and prosper~**

**p.s- I haven't really realized it until now, but I've fallen into a pattern of updating every 7-10 days (or so) after my last update. So I guess I'll try to keep that going, since I don't wanna leave you guys wondering how long it'll take for me to update. So I suppose every update will come within a week or so of the last. **

**I apologize if this upsets anyone, because waiting a week is a bit long, (esp. for anyone who loathes the concept of patience) but I do have a life outside of fanfiction that requires my participation in living it (though I'm somewhat of an introvert, I also have stuff to do as an extrovert. Yeah, I contradict myself a lot. Shut up, I know.) So there is a lot of stuff I have to do, because society is stupid like that and makes me do it. I have to go attend school, I have to listen to authoritative figures and those above me, yaddablahblahyadda. As you can tell, I do not work well with authority... The result of that only causes more trouble and work for me, though. :| F U society, F U authority!**

**Okay well this has turned into a little venting session. **

**Sorry for the venting, and again, happy 2014! **

**CK :***


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